Georgeann Wells facts for kids

Georgeann Wells is a famous American basketball player. She played for West Virginia University (WVU) from 1982 to 1986. Wells made history on December 21, 1984. She was the first American woman to dunk a basketball in an official NCAA college game. She used a regular-sized basketball, which is also called a men's basketball.

Early Life and Basketball Dreams

Georgeann Wells grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She was one of nine children in her family. From a young age, Georgeann loved basketball. She played on her middle school team. Later, she played for Columbus Northland High School.

Her talent helped Northland High win the state basketball championship. This success led to two sports scholarships for her. West Virginia University really wanted her to play for them.

Making History: The First Dunk

During her first year at West Virginia University, Wells scored a lot of points. She averaged almost 12 points per game. Georgeann also worked hard to improve her dunking skills. She dreamed of dunking in a real game.

Wells was very tall, which helped her. After each practice, she and her coaches spent extra time. Georgeann would dunk seven to 20 times to get it just right. In the 1984–85 season, she almost made her goal. But an opponent fouled her sister, Marva, right as Georgeann tried to dunk.

The Historic Moment

Soon after, on December 21, 1984, Wells made history. She was playing against the University of Charleston (WV). The game was at the Elkins Randolph County Armory. With about 11 minutes left, Georgeann got a pass from Lisa Ribble. She then made the first official dunk in a women's college basketball game! WVU won the game 110–82.

This amazing achievement was covered by many national news groups. These included New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame even created an exhibit about her dunk. Wells was also honored at an NCAA event in New York.

The Missing Video Tape

For nearly 25 years, people thought there was no video of Wells's dunk. This was despite all the news coverage and about 100 people seeing it live. Then, in 2009, a sports reporter named Reed Albergotti started looking for it. He was writing an article for The Wall Street Journal about the dunk's 25th anniversary.

Albergotti contacted Ford Francis. Ford's father, Bud Francis, was the University of Charleston coach in 1984. Bud Francis had expected Wells to try a dunk. He even warned his players about it. So, he had a team staffer record the game with a camera.

A quarter-century later, Ford Francis remembered inheriting a tape. It was simply labeled "W.V.U.-84 Elkins" after his father passed away. When Francis and Albergotti watched the tape, they were amazed. The historic footage did exist! West Virginia University had not brought their own cameras that day.

A Remarkable College Career

No other woman dunked in an official game until 1994. That's when Charlotte Smith of North Carolina made the second recorded dunk.

Besides her historic dunk, Wells had a great career at WVU. She played all four years. She scored 1,484 points and grabbed 1,075 rebounds. Her 436 blocked shots are still the all-time record for women at WVU.

Life After College Basketball

After college, Georgeann Wells traveled with the Harlem Globetrotters. She also became a coach. She coached professional teams in Japan from 1986 to 1992. Then she coached in Spain, Italy, and France from 1992 to 2003. More recently, Wells has worked as a physical education teacher. She teaches in a suburb of her hometown, Columbus, Ohio.

Awards and Recognition

As a center for WVU, Wells received many awards:

• Third Team, All-American (1985)
• Freshman All-American (1983)
• First Team, All-Atlantic 10 (1985, 1986)
• Second Team, All-Atlantic 10 (1984)

In April 2015, Wells and other African-American student athletes were honored. This event took place at the Erickson Alumni Center at WVU. It was part of a three-day tribute. The tribute celebrated the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. It also recognized the achievements of pioneering African-American student athletes.

See also

• A Brief History of Women’s Basketball at West Virginia University