Bolin, who was the first player signed with a team in the WBL, became a pioneering figure in women's basketball, both as a formidable scoring threat and as a sex symbol of the league.
Among other early accolades, Bolin was selected to participate in tryouts for 1976 Summer Olympics' women's basketball team at 17 years-old and was voted an All-American in her senior year.
[5][6] In 1975, Bolin began attending Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa where she had to adjust to the conventional five-player style of play with the Vikings basketball team.
[5][7] Nicknamed "Machine Gun" by a columnist of the Washington Post for her prolific scoring ability, Bolin averaged 16.7 points per game, and helped advance the Cornets to the championship finals before they were defeated by the Houston Angels.
[13] However, after just seven games with the Southern California Breeze, the LPBA disbanded, and Bolin—a high-list free agent sought after by all the eight remaining WBL teams—negotiated a contract with the San Francisco Pioneers, whose coach, former NBA player Dean Meminger, was a crucial selling point for Bolin.
Initially, the court awarded her ex-spouse full custody, arguing that Bolin's profession and her glamour shoots made her an unfit parent; however, the decision was appealed and overturned in 1983.