Carol Jean Menken-Schaudt (born November 23, 1957) is an American All-American basketball player from

Jefferson, Oregon Jefferson is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,098 at the 2010 census. It is home to the annual Mint Harvest Festival and is the self-proclaimed "Mint Capi ...

, who won a gold medal on the U.S. team at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. Menken-Schaudt later played basketball professionally for eight seasons, including six years in Italy and two in Japan. Menken-Schaudt is a 1993 inductee into the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

Biography

Collegiate career

Carol Menken, born in

Albany, Oregon Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, jus ...

, attended and graduated Jefferson High School in

, a small community located in Marion County.Kyle Odegard
"Still Standing Tall: and Rooting for OSU,"
''Corvallis Gazette-Times,'' March 25, 2016. During her time at the small school Menken was unable to play high school basketball every year as a coach was not always available. Consequently, following her graduation in 1975 Menken was unrecruited and she enrolled on her own at the local Linn-Benton Community College, majoring in graphic arts. Menken was enticed to try out for the Linn-Benton women's basketball team and she became one of just seven players on the club. She approached

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

(OSU) about the possibility of playing collegiately and received a partial scholarship, joining the team for its 1979–1980 season. The raw young player became a special project for OSU head coach Aki Hill, who helped Menken develop her fundamental skills, including a solid back-to-the-basket game in the low post and smooth turnaround jump shot. Menken's work paid off and she was named a 1981 All-American following her senior year, 1980–81, during which she led the nation in field goal percentage at .750. Menken still holds Oregon State's career records for points (2,243), rebounds (901), and field goal percentage (.692). She registered double-doubles for points and rebounds in 55 collegiate games and recorded a career scoring high of 51 points. Menken married in 1982, thereafter hyphenating her surname as Menken-Schaudt.

USA basketball

Menken-Schaudt was chosen to represent the USA on the USA Basketball team at the 1981 World University games, held in

Bucharest, Romania Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and coached by

Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 c ...

. After winning the opening game, the USA was challenged by China, who held a halftime lead. The USA came back to win by two points, helped by 26 points from

Denise Curry Denise Curry (born August 22, 1959) is an American former basketball player and college and professional basketball coach. Curry was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. College basketb ...

. The USA also was challenged by Canada, who led at halftime, but the USA won by three points, 79–76. The USA beat host team Romania, behind 23 points from Menken-Schaudt, to set up a match with undefeated Russia for the gold medal. The Russian team was too strong, and won the gold, leaving the US with the silver medal. Menken-Schaudt averaged 10.4 points per game. Menken-Schaudt played on the 1983 World University Games team, coached by Jill Hutchison. She averaged 11 points per games, and had a 25-point contribution in the semi-final against Yugoslavia, a game the USA won by only a single point. She helped the team go on to win the gold medal. In 1984, the USA sent its national team to the 1984 William Jones Cup competition in

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Menken-Schaudt averaged 4.1 points per game.

Professional career

Following graduation, Menken-Schaudt played professionally for eight years, logging six seasons in Italy and two more in Japan. She credits playing professionally with helping to extend her playing days, thereby allowing her the opportunity to make the gold medal-winning 1984 American Olympic team.

Legacy

Carol Menken-Schaudt was inducted into the

in 1993 and the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menken-Schaudt, Carol 1957 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Oregon Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Oregon State Beavers women's basketball players People from Albany, Oregon People from Marion County, Oregon Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade United States women's national basketball team players