| Year: | 2015 |
| Team: | Women's Basketball |
In the wonderful world of sports, being the first person to achieve a particular milestone is a feat sought by many, but conquered by few.
Sheryl Scanlon, the first 1,000 point scorer in Suffolk University women’s basketball history, is one of those special student athletes whose legacy will live on forever.
Playing both the center and forward positions from 1981-1985, Scanlon was a four-year starter under head coach Pam Rossi. A hard-nosed player at both ends of the court, the 5-10 Scanlon scored 1,174 points in her stellar career, sixth on the all-time list. She was a legitimate force inside the paint.
As a junior, Scanlon averaged 18.8 points per game (sixth highest all-time) in leading Suffolk to a 12-5 record and a berth in the Massachusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW) post-season tournament. In that season, she scored a game-high 36 points in a 73-48 triumph against Framingham State College, third best on the all-time list.
During her freshman season, Scanlon scored 20 points in pacing the Lady Rams to a 69-63 win over Babson College in the first annual Babson Invitational Tournament. She also poured in 22 points while guiding her team to the MAIAW Class C championship game. In addition, she scored 24 points in a 61-46 victory over Regis College in the original Boston Garden, right before a Boston Celtics game, “an experience,” she says, “that I will never forget.”
At Suffolk, Scanlon’s excellence extended from one court to another as she was a member of the women’s tennis squad for three years. In 1983, the team placed second in the MAIAW Class C tournament and Scanlon was the number six singles champion.
To demonstrate her athletic versatility, Scanlon, now an avid golfer, spent 30 years playing women’s softball locally as a highly successful pitcher. In 2007, she was inducted into the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Hall of Fame.
Scanlon, an Assistant Vice President at State Street Corporation in North Quincy, resides in Halifax.