Jan. 30, 2010
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Former Georgia Tech standout Joyce Pierce is among the 12 former Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball players who were announced as the 2010 ACC basketball Tournament Legends Class. The group will be honored at the 2010 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 4-7 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The honorees will be recognized during the ACC Legends Luncheon on Friday, March 5, as well as on the court at halftime of the first semifinal game on Saturday, March 6. The ACC Women’s Basketball Legends program honors past players from each of the ACC’s 12 schools who have contributed to the league’s rich tradition.
Included in the class are 12 former student-athletes that represent four decades of ACC Women’s Basketball competitors. Below is a complete list of this year’s legends and the accolades from their playing careers.
For information and tickets to this year’s ACC Women’s Basketball Legend’s Luncheon, please call 1.336.854.8787 or go to www.TheACC.com/shecanplay.
2010 ACC Legends
BOSTON COLLEGE – Annie Odoy (1984-88)
A prolific scorer, skilled passer, and defensive stalwart, Annie Odoy set Boston College records for career points (1,337), field goals (512), assists (505), and steals (287) and was selected as a Kodak District I All-American as a senior after the 1987-88 campaign. Odoy earned Big East All-Rookie honors as a freshman before garnering All-BIG EAST accolades three more times, including in her senior season when she led the league in assists, steals, and made 3-pointers. Additionally, the Monroe, Conn. native set other school records with 133 made 3-pointers and 255 made free throws. Following her senior season, Odoy was named the recipient of the Nathaniel J. Hasenfus “Eagle of the Year” Award as the outstanding female student-athlete in her graduating class. After her undergraduate work, in which she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in theology, Odoy remained in Chestnut Hill to coach as a graduate assistant. She then went on to play and coach professionally in Sweden before returning to the States to coach at the collegiate level at Duquesne University. Odoy was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a member of both the New England and Connecticut Basketball Halls of Fame. In the last decade, Odoy has returned to Connecticut to work as a guidance counselor at her alma mater, Masuk High School, where she also is an assistant girls basketball coach and girls lacrosse referee. She currently resides in Bethany, Conn.
CLEMSON – Donna (Forester) Reed (1976-78)
Despite playing for the Tigers for just two seasons, Donna Forester finished her career in Clemson’s 1,000-500 club, scoring 1,270 points and pulling down 766 rebounds – both school records at the time of her graduation. While her 1,270 career points and 766 career rebounds currently rank 12th and sixth, respectively, at Clemson, her 12.2 career rebounding average remains a Tiger record. Forester also stands eighth in school history in made field goals (535) and fourth in free-throw percentage (76.9). She tied school single-game records in 1977 when, as a junior, she pulled down 25 caroms in a 79-45 win over Columbia College and shot 100 percent from the floor by going 12-of-12 in a 95-51 win over Claflin the following season. The first Tiger in program history to earn All-ACC accolades, Forester was selected to the all-conference team in 1978 and earned 1978 All-ACC Tournament team honors. Clemson posted its first two 20-win seasons during Forester’s two years in the Orange and Purple. Before attending Clemson, Forester led Anderson College to a pair of junior college national championships in 1975 and 1976. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s in Education in 1978, Foreste earned a Master’s degree in Personnel Services in 1981 and a Specialist’s degree in Administration and Supervision in 1994. Forester is a 31-year veteran in the education field, currently serving as the assistant superintendent for the Bank County School System in Homer, Ga. She and her husband Steve reside in Martin, Ga., and have two children, Matthew and Caroline, a granddaughter, Hannah, and another grandchild expected in March.
DUKE – Connie Goins (1982-86)
A four-time All-ACC Honor Roll student-athlete at Duke, Connie Goins finished her Blue Devil career ranked second in school history in both points (1,140) and assists (297), and eighth with 461 rebounds. Goins set career-highs in nearly every statistical category – games and starts (28), points (379) and points per game (13.5), field goals (142) and field-goal attempts (300), free throws (95) and free-throw attempts (126), 146 rebounds, 127 assists, and 10 blocks – en route to second-team All-ACC honors as a senior in 1985-86. That same season, she was named the team’s captain and guided the Blue Devils their first national ranking in school history when Duke appeared at No. 20 in the Associated Press top 20 poll of January 12, 1986. When off the court and not studying, Goins found time for Duke’s softball club and its Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, and was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A 1982 Miss Kentucky Basketball selection out of Western Hills High School in Frankfort, Goins graduated cum laude from Duke in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Duke. After college Goins spent 22 years in the Kentucky state government, serving as its director of information technology for Kentucky Retirement Systems and later as the information systems administrator for the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation. Now retired, Goins currently volunteers as an assistant coach at her high school alma mater and teaches Sunday school.
FLORIDA STATE – Brooke Wyckoff (1997-2001)
A native of West Chester, Ohio in the heart of Big Ten country, Brooke Wyckoff left the “Buckeye State” for Tallahassee, where she had an immediate impact on Seminole basketball, most notably on defense. Wyckoff set a school single-season record with 80 blocks in 1997-98 en route to ACC All-Freshman accolades, and finished her career with a school-record 209 rejections. Both marks have since fallen. Wyckoff went on to garner two selections to the All-ACC third team following her sophomore (1998-99) and junior (1999-2000) seasons, and was tabbed a first-team All-ACC pick as a senior in 2000-01. During her senior season, Wyckoff keyed the Seminoles to a 19-12 overall record and Florida State’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991 while earning All-America recognition. Following her career in Tallahassee, she was a second-round selection of the Orlando Miracle in the 2001 WNBA draft, where she spent two seasons before the team relocated to Connecticut. After two seasons spanning three years with the Connecticut Sun, Wyckoff was picked by the Chicago Sky in the 2006 WBNA expansion draft, where she has played for the past three seasons. Over the course of an eight-year career in the WNBA, Wyckoff has averaged 3.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.
GEORGIA TECH – Joyce Pierce-Joyner (1991-93)
After finishing her career ranked in the top-five all-time at Georgia Tech in nine categories – including a school record 430 made free throws – Joyce Pierce-Joyner played one season for S.P.O. Rouen, a professional team in France. A three-time second-team All-ACC pick and Honorable Mention Kodak All-American in 1993, Pierce-Joyner set a school single-season record as a junior with 596 points, and has at least one of the top-five single-season marks in six other categories. Pierce-Joyner led the Yellow Jackets in both scoring and rebounding in three straight seasons, finishing her career with 37 double-doubles, which is tied for second all-time at Tech. Additionally, she set single-game records, which have since been tied, by going 17-of-17 from the charity stripe in a win over Hawaii in the WNIT championship game in 1992, and by attempting 20 free throws against Clemson in 1993. Upon returning to the United States, she became co-owner of J&J Candy Jar in Decatur, Ga., before discovering her true passion: teaching. Pierce-Joyner is currently an eighth-grade teacher in the Clayton County Public School System and over the past several years has coached seventh- and eighth-grade boys and girls basketball. She resides in Riverdale, Ga., with her husband and two children, and recently added motorcycle riding to her list of hobbies.
MARYLAND – Tara Heiss (1974-78)
Tara Heiss finished her collegiate career as one of the most prolific players in Maryland history. Her 504 career assists still rank third all-time at Maryland, while her 14.2 points per game and 1,183 field goals attempts rank eighth and 10th, respectively. Heiss also set a program record, which has since been broken, with 34 points in a single game against Delaware in 1976, and recorded a 31-point outing against national powerhouse Immaculata in 1978. As a junior and senior, Heiss led the Terps in both scoring and assists. In her senior season, Maryland claimed the school’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title, defeating NC State, 89-82, in the championship game. Heiss was named the tournament’s most valuable player. The Terps advanced to the title game of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Tournament with wins over second-ranked NC State and top-ranked Tennessee, but fell to UCLA, 90-74, in the championship. Heiss was a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Region selection as a senior. Following her collegiate career, Heiss played in the World University Games in 1979 and was named to the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
MIAMI – Meghan (Saake) Knokey (1999-2003)
The 2002 Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2001-02), Meghan Saake was a strong athletic guard who excelled in a fast-paced game. She was the first Hurricane women’s basketball student-athlete to earn the league distinction of Defensive Player of the Year. Saake served as team captain for her junior and senior campaigns and started every game of her four-year career. The youngest in a family of five, Saake concluded her career averaging 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.4 assists per game. As a junior, Saake set the school’s single-season record for steals (121) in a season. The record, which still stands today, formerly belonged to Maria Rivera with 106 during the 1986-87 season. Saake finished her career with 358 steals, a mark that remains good for second in Miami annals, behind only Rivera (382). Saake totaled 1,030 points in her career, joining what is currently a 19-member 1,000-point club. A four-year Dean’s List student, Saake was also named Miami’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2003. As a starting guard at Wellington High School, Saake registered 2,021 points, the most in school history, while averaging 17.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. She also lettered four years in volleyball and was the high school volleyball team’s most valuable player during both junior and senior years. Saake earned the Commitment to Excellence award and majored in Liberal Arts at Miami. She remains active with Habitat for Humanity and will be traveling to Guatemala in May 2010. Saake has spent time as a team leader for multiple events for Relay for Life, which supports the American Cancer Society, and is a passionate supporter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She currently resides in Hanover, New Hampshire, with her husband Jon and their American Bulldog, Tugg.
NORTH CAROLINA – Tonya Sampson (1990-94)
As a senior, Tonya Sampson earned Kodak, Basketball America and Basketball Times All-America honors, while leading the Tar Heels to the 1994 NCAA National Championship. She paced the team in scoring in each of her four years, averaging a career-best 21 points per game over the 1992-93 season. Sampson graduated as Carolina’s all-time leading scorer with 2,143 points, a total that was surpassed in 1998 by Tracy Reid. Sampson was a member of the ACC’s All-Freshmen team in 1991, and then earned All-ACC honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. The guard also earned ACC All-Tournament team recognition in 1994 after leading her squad to its second ACC Tournament title and Carolina’s first since 1984. Sampson, who is part of the 30-member 1,000-point scoring club at UNC, ranks in the Tar Heels’ career top 10 in points (3rd), scoring average (2nd), total rebounds (9th), rebounding average (9th) and steals (2nd). Born in Clinton, N.C., Sampson won two state championships at Clinton High (1989 & 1990). Sampson, who had her #34 jersey honored, was also named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 50th Anniversary Team in 2003. Born in Clinton, N.C., Sampson won two state basketball championships at Clinton High (1989 &1990), while also participating in softball, volleyball and tennis. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation Administration, Sampson began her professional basketball career. She competed in four difference countries over a three-year span before returning to the American Basketball League (ABL). Following an ACL injury, Sampson returned to international competition until 2001, when the guard retired. Since 2008, Sampson has transferred her athletic talents to the Independent Women’s Football League. As a linebacker for the Carolina Phoenix and Carolina Queens, she was voted one of the league’s top defensive players.
NC STATE – Andrea Stinson (1989-91)
Despite only playing three seasons at NC State, Stinson ranks third on the school’s scoring chart with 2,136 points. The Cornelius, N.C., native tops the school in career scoring average at 22.7 points per game and is currently one of only four Wolfpack players to have reached the 2,000-career point mark. Stinson is considered one of the most physically-gifted players to ever compete in the ACC. She ranks 15th in career rebounds per game (5.8), third in field goals made (917), third in field goals attempted (1,696), sixth in assists (402), 10th in blocks (84) and third in steals (286). A dazzling, all-around player who has been described by some as the female-version of Michael Jordan, Stinson was unanimously selected as the ACC Player of the Year in 1990. Stinson was named to the All-ACC team three times and was a consensus All-America selection in 1990 and 1991. She left Raleigh holding seven Wolfpack records, including most points in a game, with 50 against Providence during the 1989-90 season, a mark that also broke the ACC single-game record. Stinson earned Sports Illustrated Player of the Week honors for that performance. Stinson was selected to the ACC All-Tournament team of all of the regular-season tournaments in which the Wolfpack participated during her career. Stinson played nine seasons in the WNBA and became the first Charlotte Sting player to have her jersey retired.
VIRGINIA – Jenny Boucek (1992-96)
A four-year starter for the University of Virginia’s women’s basketball team from 1992-96, Boucek helped lead the Cavaliers to four regular season Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and three NCAA Elite Eight appearances. Boucek was a two-time GTE Academic All-American team member and two-time ACC selection. She twice earned team Defensive Player of the Year honors and finished her career at Virginia as a member of the 1,000-point club. Boucek competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993 and graduated with honors in 1997 with a degree in sports medicine and sports management. She played professional basketball for two years before joining the coaching ranks. In 1997, the WNBA’s inaugural season, Boucek was a member of the Cleveland Rockers. After the 1997 WNBA season ended, she played in Iceland in 1998 and was voted the country’s best player after averaging 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists. She returned to the Rockers in time for the 1998 season, but retired due to a career-ending back injury. The Nashville, Tenn., native then served as an assistant coach for various teams in the WNBA from 1999 to 2005. She was named as the head coach for the Sacramento Monarchs on November 15, 2006.
VIRGINIA TECH – Tere Williams (1997-2001)
A member of the Virginia Tech 1,000-point club, Tere Williams finished her career with 1,750 points, ranking second on the school’s all-time scoring list. Williams earned 1999 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American recognition and was a 1998 Women’s Basketball News Service Freshman All-American. The 1998 Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Rookie of the Year, Williams was twice named to the All-Atlantic 10 Conference first team (1999, 2000) and to the second team (1998) on one occasion. Williams, who was part of the Hokies’ 350th program win, an 81-39 victory over Rhode Island on Jan. 6, 2000, collected All-Big East second team honors in 2001. She is Tech’s career leader in field goals made (694), field goal percentage (.550) and rebounds (853), and led her Hokies’ squad in both scoring and rebounding all four years. Williams was the first Virginia Tech player to be drafted by the WNBA as she was selected in the third round of the 2001 Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. She played professionally in Austria, Ecuador, Israel, Russia and Spain. Williams is currently employed as a sales representative for MSR, a company manufacturing mobile hydraulic stages for events, while pursuing a career as a professional singer.
WAKE FOREST – Barbara Durham (1981-84)
Barbara Durham became the second member of Wake Forest’s 1,000-point club with a career total of 1,203 points. Durham led the Demon Deacons in scoring for the 1980-81 season (13 ppg) and in rebounding in 1979-80 with an average of 9.4 per game. She topped all Deacons in free throw percentage in back-to-back seasons (1979-80: .763 & 1980-81: .766). She currently ranks sixth in the Wake Forest record books in single-season rebounding with 244 (1979-80) and ranks fifth in single-season rebounding for the same season (9.4 pg). Durham’s 21-rebound outing against Duke in November, 1979, ranks as the second-best single-game performance in school history. She recorded three games with 30 or more points (30 vs. Catawba on Feb. 4, 1980, 32 vs. Appalachian State on Jan. 18, 1982, 32 vs. Winston-Salem State on Nov. 20, 1979). Durham also registered a facility record for Reynolds Gymnasium with a 17-rebound performance vs. Catawba during the Feb. 4, 1980 game.
