Feb. 28, 2008
BEAUMONT - Four of the greatest players in Lamar University women's basketball history make up the inaugural class of players to be commemorated in the Walk of Champions on the upper concourse of the Montagne Center, on Saturday March 8, at 4 p.m. when the Lady Cardinals take on Southeastern Louisiana.
Carolyn Ford, Uirannah Jackson, Ramona Jones and Carol Sims have all played a major role in building the foundation of Lamar women's basketball. The four standouts accomplishments will be on display on the upper concourse, and they will be recognized during a halftime ceremony.
"It certainly is an honor to be involved in the induction of Carol Sims, Carolyn Ford, Uirannah Jackson, and Ramona Jones into the initial Lamar Lady Cardinal Basketball Walkway of Champions," Lady Cardinals head coach Larry Tidwell said. "All four of these former Lady Cardinals represent outstanding achievement on the court in the form of points scored, rebounds, assists, blocked shots, and steals but other key qualifications are required for this high honor. The words passion, leadership, dedication, teamwork, and excellence come to mind in describing this elite group as they set the standards very, very high for future Lady Cardinals to attain. With this induction, it truly is a great day for Lamar Lady Cardinal Basketball."
Carolyn Ford
A four year letterwinner at Lamar University, Ford finished her career as the schools all time leader in rebounding with 1,052, the only player in Lady Cardinals history to register over 1,000 rebounds. Her 10.3 rebounds per game average ranks third on the schools all time list. Her 1,056 points ranks eighth on the schools all time scoring list. She is the only member of the 1,000-1,000 club in Lamar University women's basketball history. She owns the school record for games with 20 or more rebounds, accomplishing the feat seven times during her career. Her 24 rebound performance against New Orleans on November 20, 1981 ranks as the third best single game performance in LU history.
During the 1980-81 season Ford averaged 12.4 rebounds per game which is the fourth-best single season rebounding average in school history.
Uirannah Jackson
A four year letterwinner at Lamar University, Jackson finished her career as the schools all time leading scorer with 1,730 points with a career field goal percentage of 54.2. She ranks second in rebounding with 863 and is also the school record holder in blocks, registering 178 rejections in 114 games played. She ranks third in career-steals with 184 and her scoring average of 15.2 points per game ranks eighth in school history. She was named the 1989 American South Newcomer of the Year, ASC First Team All Conference in 1990 and First Team All Sun Belt Conference in 1992.
During the 1989-90 season Jackson was a force for the Lady Cardinals, leading the team with 544 points (18.8 ppg), 242 rebounds (8.3 rpg) and 60 blocked shots. Her 60 blocks during the 89-90 season are a school record for blocks in a single season.
Ramona Jones
A four year letterwinner at Lamar University, Jones finished her career as the schools all time leader in assists with 653 and steals with 333 while ranking 10th in scoring with 986 career points. Her 653 assists are 353 more than any other player in school history and her 33 steals are 147 more than any other Lady Cardinals player. She led Lamar in assists for four straight seasons, capped off with 189 assists, an average of 7.3 per game during the 1992-93 season. She also led LU in steals for three straight years. During the 1990-91 season Jones set Lamar single season school records with 188 assists and 132 steals
On December 1, 1992 she set a school record when she passed out 15 assists against Oral Roberts. She also passed out 12 assists in a game on three other occasions, which ranks as the third most in a game. Her 12 steals against Central Florida on January 14, 1991 rank second all time in school history.
Carol Sims
A four year letterwinner at Lamar University, Sims is the second leading scorer in school history with 1,571 points in her career. She became the first women's basketball player to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau after scoring 486 points during the 1975-76 season and 585 points during the 1976-77 season. She ranks second on the school's 30 point game list, scoring 30 or more points on five occasions. Sims holds the Lady Cardinals record for field goals made during a season, knocking down 252 baskets during the 1976-77 season and is second in field goals made with 648. She also ranks third on the all-time free throws made list, sinking 275 shots from the charity stripe.
On March 3, 1977 Sims scored a career-high 34 points against Southwest Texas State, which at the time was a school record for points scored in a single game.
