Due to health concerns and the need for social distancing because of the coronavirus COVID-19, all events for the 2020 spring semester have been cancelled.
TIFTON—After winning only two games in her first season as the head coach of the women’s basketball team at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Julie Conner knew things had to change in her second year at the helm of the Golden Fillies. Mission accomplished.
ABAC stunned the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association by catching fire at the right time and winning the 2002 state tournament. For their heroics, Conner and the members of that team will be inducted into the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame on April 3. Conner was also a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee for her success as the ABAC coach from 2000 through 2008.
ABAC Athletics Director Alan Kramer said the Class of 2020 also includes three sport athlete Clayt Hurst, tennis player German Dalmagro, softball player Lee Davis Watson, soccer standout Nikita Morris, tennis player, coach, and contributor Margaret Treadway, contributor and volunteer assistant softball coach James Winfred “Vic” Vickers, contributor and volunteer assistant softball coach Jimmy Spurlin, and Director of Public Relations Emeritus Mike Chason.
Tickets to the 6 p.m. dinner on April 3 in ABAC’s Gressette Gym are $40 per person. Tickets can be purchased from the ABAC Athletics Office at (229) 391-4930 or online at https://athletics.abac.edu/inside/hof/2020_Hall_of_Fame_Banquet . The deadline to purchase tickets is March 27. There will be no tickets sold at the event.
Conner’s team began the 2001-02 regular season at a glacial pace, winning only two of its first eight games. But when the calendar turned to March, the madness began. In the state tournament, ABAC defeated Georgia Perimeter 61-59 in the quarterfinals, Middle Georgia 48-44 in the semifinals and then shocked tournament host Atlanta Metro 76-72 in overtime in the championship game.
Team members included Melissa Gail, Chelsie Miller, Amanda Marshall, Mary Lee Henderson Clark, Shanekia Felton, Bronwyn Smyre Glover, Jasmin Lee Felton, Nikki Inge Greenwood, Latoya Office Benton, Jeanine Dorminey Webster, and Freda Cherry Long. Miller was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, and Jasmin Lee Felton was selected for the All-Tournament Team.
“The games leading up to the state championship were a real challenge,” Conner, now the head coach of the Tift County High School Lady Devils’ basketball team, said in a recent interview. “It was a battle every single night. We went in as the fourth seed, and we were playing on the home court of the number one seed.
“It was one of those teams that our chemistry overcame so much. We played together. We came together at the perfect time. It was really special. It’s a tremendous honor for us to be selected for the Hall of Fame.”
After winning the state title, the Golden Fillies hosted the first and only women’s basketball national tournament game in the history of ABAC. Louisburg (N.C.) College proved to be too much for Conner’s squad, winning the playoff game 95-69. The Golden Fillies wound up with a 16-16 overall record and became only the second ABAC women’s basketball team ever to win a state championship.
The Athletics Hall of Fame dinner is a part of the 2020 ABAC Homecoming celebration. For more information on Homecoming, interested persons can visit the ABAC web site at www.abac.edu/homecoming.
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