Their Claims to Fame: the WBHOF Class of 2024 (Part 4)
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame recently announced its Class of 2024. Previously on Their Claims to Fame:
Today we finish out the honorees with Mary "Roonie" Scovel, Cheyney State, and the Afghan Athlete Resettlement Program.
Mary "Roonie" Scovel
Save for a call to the Hall of Fame, perhaps there's no greater indication of a coach's impact than a court named in their honor.
"Roonie Scovel Court" inside Billy Harrison Field House at Gulf Coast State College carries on the name of the longtime and winning coach of the Lady Commodores, Mary "Roonie" Scovel.
A three-time All-Conference selection and All-State in her senior year at Southside High School in Greenville, South Carolina, Scovel went on to play four years at Florida for a pair of well-known names in the basketball world, Mickie DeMoss and Debbie Yow.
Scovel coached Laurel Hill to a high school state title in 1995 before taking on the job at Gulf Coast State College in 1996, when she would begin to cement her legacy at the junior college level.
Over her 22 seasons at the helm, Scovel accumulated a 646-91 record, named NJCAA Coach of the Year six times, one for each championship the Lady Commodores won in that time (2003, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017, and 2019).
Gulf Coast State dominated the Panhandle Conference over that time, winning 18 conference championships.
"I wanted to teach and coach and live at the beach," Scovel told reporters after she announced her retirement in 2020.
Leading a powerhouse junior college basketball program just down the road from Panama City Beach, it's fair to say she went three-for-three.
Beyond the winning, Scovel leaves a legacy of players, many of whom were able to carry their winning ways on to the NCAA Division I level and even up to the professional ranks.
Among the players who Scovel coached are Saundra Jackson (Ole Miss, 2002 WNBA Draftee), Mandisa Stevenson (Auburn, WNBA), Tiffany Stansbury (NC State, WNBA), Markeisha Gatling (NC State, WNBA), Kionna Jeter (Towson, 2021 WNBA Draftee), Brittany Davis (Alabama, 2023 WNBA Draftee), and Ahlana Smith (Louisville, Mississippi State).
Through a year of tragedy and triumph, Mary "Roonie" Scovel guided Gulf Coast State to its third title in four years🏆
— NJCAA Basketball (@NJCAABasketball) April 12, 2019
Through a team who inspired a campus and community, Scovel has been named the 2019 Spalding® DI Women's Basketball Coach of the Year
📰https://t.co/yvLP6ZfGLL pic.twitter.com/1A5jql2xen
Cheyney State & C. Vivian Stringer
When you think of C. Vivian Stringer's unprecedented NCAA Final Four runs with three different programs, her most recent stint at Rutgers may come to mind. Longtime women's basketball fans and historians recall her successful time at Iowa, and thanks to more recent celebrations and now a Hall of Fame call, more are becoming familiar with her time leading Cheyney State to the 1982 NCAA Championship Game.
Rather than try to put that team to words or summarize their impact, I'll point you to three recent features that put Stringer and her team, who are being honored as the 2024 Trailblazers of the Game, front and center:
Ben Pickman, for Sports Illustrated: https://www.si.com/college/2022/03/31/cheyney-basketball-c-vivian-stringer-daily-cover
HBCU Gameday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWnWaGrm3WY
SC Featured: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_A92YfLT3A
Afghan Athlete Resettlement Program
The final honoree alongside the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is the For the Love of the Game honoree, the Afghan Athlete Resettlement Program, which like the hall itself, has a strong base in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Let Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel tell you the story: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/womens-basketball/2023/03/09/knoxville-center-to-resettle-afghan-women-basketball-players-michelle-marciniak/69894405007/
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