Georgeann Wells was an All-American basketball player at West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 (WVU) who became the first woman to register a dunk in an official NCAA intercollegiate basketball game. She did it with a regulation-size ball (a men's basketball)

Wells's feat occurred on December 21, 1984, against the University of Charleston (WV) with 11:18 remaining in the game. WVU won the game 110-82. It was played at the Randolph County

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

 Armory in Elkins, West Virginia

Elkins, West Virginia

Elkins is a city in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins , a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The population was 7,032 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County...

, during the Mountaineer Christmas Classic basketball tournament. The accomplishment was covered extensively in the national media, including Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame featured Wells's accomplishment in a dedicated exhibit, and Wells was honored at an NCAA luncheon in New York. No woman again dunked in an official game until 1994, and then with the intermediate (a women's ball).

Wells was a heavily recruited 6-foot 7-inch center from Northland High School in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. In addition to her historic slam dunk, Wells enjoyed a remarkable career for the WVU women's basketball team. She was a four-year letterwinner, scoring 1,484 points and pulling down 1,075 rebounds. Her 436 blocked shots is the all-time record for women at WVU.

As center for WVU, Wells earned many honors, including

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