Karen Conlin (2014) - Hall of Fame - University of Delaware Athletics

Karen Conlin

Induction:
2014
Class:
1978

KAREN C. CONLIN
Women’s Basketball (1974-78)
Softball (1978)

Karen was one of the top student-athletes in the early days of the University of Delaware women’s basketball program in 1974-78. A four-year starter for Hall of Fame head coach Mary Ann Hitchens, Karen directed the Blue Hen offense from her point guard spot and led the Blue Hens to four straight winning seasons, an overall mark of 45-26, and four straight trips to the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) Regionals.

A native of nearby Wilmington, Del. where she starred at Ursuline Academy, Karen made an immediate impact for the Blue Hens, averaging 8.9 points per game as a freshman and following with 12.7 ppg as a sophomore, 10.9 ppg, 5.1 rebounds, and a team-high 3.7 assists per game as a junior, and 9.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and a team-leading 4.9 apg as a senior.

A two-time captain, she appeared in 68 career games with 60 starts and scored 716 points, ranking No. 2 all-time at UD behind only teammate and Hall of Famer Sharon Howett and ranking No. 3 overall with a 10.9 ppg average. She led the team in assists in each of her final two seasons (the statistic was not recorded before 1977-78), including dishing out a then school record 88 as a senior when she also set a school record with 12 assists in a game vs. Temple.

She also played one season of softball for head coach Kay Ice in 1978 and batted .240 for a team that went 11-9 and advanced to the EAIAW Regionals. Karen earned her degree from Delaware in 1978 and went on to earn her master’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1980 and her degree in dentistry in 1988 from Ohio State.