Bio

Coleen Dufresne went on to have an incredible impact on basketball in Canada and internationally as a well-known coach and administrator, but before all of that she was a great player at uOttawa.

During her time with the Gee-Gees: In 1971-1972 as a member of the first Gee-Gees team to compete in the OWIAA she led the league with 190 points in 10 games. She scored 38 points in two games at the championship that season, and then scored 47 points at the 1972-73 championship after repeating as league scoring champ with 16.1 ppg. In 1973-74 she was second in league scoring (15 ppg), but in 1974-75 she led the league in scoring again with 20.8 points per game. She wore #25 for the Gee-Gees and began her career with the national team during her Ottawa days.

She was an Olympic Team member in 1976, having been named to the National Team in the summer of 1974. She remains in the OUA record books today with a career total of 559 points in 30 games for a career average of 18.6 ppg – the Gee-Gees program record.

A native of Halifax, who was raised in Dorion, Que., Dufresne played basketball as a student-athlete the University of Ottawa, and later went on to further her education at McGill University, and later the University of New Brunswick.

Dufresne started her coaching career at the University of New Brunswick in 1980. The U SPORTS Coach of the Year in 1982-83, she moved to the Manitoba Bisons in 1984 where her Bisons teams made the playoffs for 17 consecutive seasons, winning national championships in 1987-88, 1995-96 and 1996-97. Dufresne also led the women's basketball program to two national silver medals (1994-95, 1997-98) and two bronze medals (1986-87, 1993-94) while having Manitoba at nationals in nine of 17 seasons. 

Dufresne led the Bisons to five Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championships (1986-87, '87-88, '95-96, '96-97, '97-98); was named GPAC Coach of the Year five times (1984-85, '86-87, '87-88, '95-96, '97-98), and was named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year two more times (1987-88, '97-98).

She coached the Canadian women’s basketball team at major international events, including the FIBA World Championships and Pan American Games.

In 2001 she became the Athletic Director at Manitoba, a role she would hold for 15 years. As an administrator, Dufresne has also served as President of Canada West, a board member of U SPORTS, and a member of the FISU executive committee. 

She is a member of the Canada West Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

Coleen, third from left in back row (#25) with the 1971-72 Gee-Gees.