Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inducts three
Charlotte, NC – The NJCAA has announced three honorees to be inducted into the NJCAA Women's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. One coach and two student-athletes have been honored. Read below for more on Drew Sanders, Elaine Powell, and Fantasia Goodwin.
Drew Sanders | Coach | New Mexico Junior College
Drew Sanders' illustrious coaching career spanned 41 years at various levels and garnered numerous accolades and accomplishments. Sanders spent 20 seasons coaching at the two-year level with a career record of 443-182. Sanders began his NJCAA coaching career at Eastern Oklahoma State in Wilburton, OK. While leading the Lady Mountaineers, Sanders earned an NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship tournament berth. Sanders also spent 13 seasons as the head coach at New Mexico Junior College. During this time, Sanders led the T-Birds to five WJCAC Championships, two Co-Conference WJCAC Championships, four Region V Championships, and represented the WJCAC with seven national tournament appearances. Under Sanders' leadership, New Mexico's women's basketball program emerged as a front-runner on the national level. In 2015, Sanders was a finalist for the Patt Summit Trophy, an award presented annually to the WBCA National Coach of the Year.
Sanders also coached for 21 seasons at the high school level and led multiple teams to the Oklahoma High School State Tournament. In 1996, Sanders was selected as the Oklahoma High School Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Oklahoma Girl's Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sanders is recognized as a pillar in his community. He has been involved with multiple youth development programs in Oklahoma and New Mexico, participated in the Hobbs United Way Fundraiser, and has volunteered at the Hobbs Animal Shelter.
Elaine Powell | Student-Athlete | Pearl River (MS)
Elaine Powell started her collegiate basketball career at Pearl River where she achieved great success including All-State, All-Region, and NJCAA First-Team All-American. During her time at Pearl River, the Wildcats won a state championship, a regional championship, and participated in the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. After Pearl River, Powell continued her collegiate career at Louisianna State University where she went on to be the NCAA national scoring leader, a two-time All-American, and an SEC standout.
After her time in Baton Rouge, Powell continued her basketball career in the WNBA with the Orlando Miracle. Powell became the first player in LSU history to be drafted by the WNBA and was selected in the fourth round of the 1999 draft. Powell spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Miracle before joining the Detroit Shock where she would win three WNBA World Championships. After finding success in the WNBA, she continued to spread her love of basketball by becoming a coach. Powell has been the assistant coach at multiple universities including Alabama A&M, Grambling State, and Ohio. Powell later became the head coach at Langston University for five years and is currently the assistant coach at Georgia Southern University.
Fantasia Goodwin | Student-Athlete | Monroe College (NY)
Fantasia Goodwin was a member of the Monroe College women's basketball team from 2005-06. In her freshman season, Goodwin averaged 26.3 ppg with 17 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and a total of 192 steals. In her sophomore season, the forward averaged 23 ppg with 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and a total of 165 steals. While at Monroe, the Mustangs finished as the runner-up at the 2005 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship during Goodwin's freshman season and later went on to win the 2006 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship title during her sophomore campaign. Goodwin's accolades at the two-year level include NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball First Team All-America, NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship MVP, Region 15 Tournament MVP, Region 15 Division Player of the Year, WBCA All-American, New York State Junior College Player of the Year, and New York/New Jersey Met Basketball Writers Player of the Year.
After her time in New Rochelle, Goodwin continued her career at Syracuse University. In her junior season at Syracuse, Goodwin finished the season averaging 12 points per game, led the team with 40 three-point field goals, ranked second in rebounding, and ranked third on the team with 35 steals and 31 assists. Senior year Goodwin set a school record of 25 rebounds in only four games and finished the season averaging 12.3 points per game. She also ranked third on the team in rebounds with 8.8. Goodwin then went on to continue her basketball career playing professionally overseas.
