Sue Gunter, 66; Hall of Fame Coach Led LSU Women to 14 NCAA Tournaments
Sue Gunter, the Hall of Fame coach who ranked third in all-time victories in women’s basketball, died Thursday at her home in Baton Rouge, La. She was 66. The cause of death was not reported, but Gunter was known to have been battling emphysema.
In 22 seasons at Louisiana State University, Gunter had a 442-221 record and led the Lady Tigers to 14 NCAA tournament appearances. Gunter led LSU to one Final Four appearance and to the Elite Eight three times.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Aug. 14, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday August 14, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 58 words Type of Material: Correction
Gunter obituary -- The obituary of coach Sue Gunter in the Aug. 5 California section said she ranked third in all-time victories in women’s basketball. In fact, she ranked third among NCAA women’s coaches when she retired with 708 career wins. That record has since been surpassed by Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer, who has 723 career wins.
She led the Lady Tigers to the championship of the National Women’s Invitational Tournament in 1985. During her LSU career, her teams had 20 or more wins in 14 seasons and had one 30-victory season.
She had a career record of 708-308 but was not credited for two years at Middle Tennessee State, when her teams were 44-0, or her first four years at Stephen F. Austin State in Texas, because official records were never turned over to the NCAA.
Even with the six missing years, Gunter ranked third in wins and games coached and fourth in 20-win seasons (21). Among women’s college coaches, only Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and Texas’ Jody Conradt have more victories than Gunter.
Gunter went on medical leave during the 2003-04 season and watched as protege Dana “Pokey” Chatman led the Lady Tigers to the Final Four. Gunter, tethered to an oxygen tank, continued to attend practices and film sessions for the rest of the season but was unable to be at games. She retired at the end of the season.
Gunter, who was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. She will be inducted posthumously. In 1980, Gunter was selected as the women’s basketball coach for the United States Olympic team.
Her team did not get to compete in the games because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Gunter was an assistant coach on the 1976 U.S. team, which captured the silver medal in Montreal.
She served as coach of the U.S. National Team in 1976, 1978 and 1980.
Born in Walnut Grove, Miss., Gunter earned her bachelor’s and master’s at Peabody College in Nashville. She played on the 1960-62 U.S. teams that competed against the Soviet Union.
She was a smoker for more than 30 years but quit in 1994.
Gunter had a variety of respiratory problems during childhood, however, and thought that might have made her predisposed to emphysema.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
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