Janet Wood, the former head coach of the Mountain Home Lady Bombers, will be inducted into the Southern Arkansas University Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday for the second time. Wood was inducted as an individual for her accomplishments on the basketball floor and volleyball court in 2012. This time, Wood will join her basketball teammates as the 1975-76 and 1976-77 teams will be inducted for their two year run where they amassed a record of 40-7. The teams will be the first female teams at SAU ever inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame.
Wood says she has a lot of fond memories from her time in Magnolia.
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Wood was a forward in high school during a time when they still played three on three. Once she got to SAU, she played guard and got playing time immediately.
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1976-77 Team Photo (Janet Wood #13)
The 1975-76 team finished 20-4 and went 15-1 in conference play. After winning the conference , the Riderettes advanced to the regional tournament, where they lost the first game of the tournament. They then battled their way back to win the consolation bracket of the regional tournament, upsetting Oklahoma State en route to winning.
1975-76 Team Photo (Janet Wood #13)
The 1976-77 team went 20-3 while going 17-1 in conference play, finishing as the regular season co-champions and the conference tournament runner-up. Wood was all-conference, leading the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game.
No other women’s basketball team at Southern Arkansas has reached the 20 win plateau since, even though they now play more games.
In high school, Wood played at Melbourne, where she and her teammates played for head coach Don Watson and won a state championship. She says playing for such good coaches in her career helped shape her for her career.
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In sports, Title IX is a federal law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, including athletic programs at K-12 schools and colleges. Wood, and three of her teammates, were the first females at SAU to receive athletic scholarships.
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After graduation from SAU, Wood spent one year as a graduate assistant on Coach Downing’s staff. She then spent two years at Cotter, before being hired at Mountain Home in 1981.
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