"Georgeann Wells is an All-American basketball player, who was active at West Virginia University (WVU) from 1982 to 1986. Among her other accomplishments, Wells is notable as the first American woman to register a dunk in an official NCAA intercollegiate basketball game on December 21, 1984. She did so with a regulation-sized ball (also known as a men's basketball).

"A native of Columbus, Ohio, Wells grew up in a family of 9 children. Wells had an interest in basketball from a young age, playing on her middle school team as well as her high school team at Columbus Northland High School. Aided by her talent, Northland went on to win the state basketball championship. This, in turn, helped Wells secure two athletic scholarships to West Virginia University, which recruited her heavily.

"Not long after, on December 21, 1984, Wells went on to make history. Playing at Elkins Randolph County Armory against the University of Charleston (WV), with 11:18 remaining in the game, Wells received a pass from point guard Lisa Ribble and achieved the first official dunk in a women's college basketball game. WVU won 110–82. (Wikipedia)

"No woman dunked again in an official game until 1994, when North Carolina's senior forward Charlotte Smith made the second recorded dunk in a women's regular collegiate basketball game against North Carolina A&T State University. In addition to her historic slam dunk, Wells enjoyed a remarkable career for the WVU women's basketball team. She was a four-year letter winner, scoring 1,484 points and pulling down 1,075 rebounds. Her 436 blocked shots is the all-time record for women at WVU."

"The first women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game was Georgeann Wells. The West Virginia center threw down a right-handed jam on WVU’s home turf to take an 85-50 lead with just under 12 minutes to go on Dec. 21, 1984, in a battle against the University of Charleston.

"The story of the dunk, and how a video of it was finally recovered 25 years after the fact is essential basketball history. You can read more about it and see the long-lost video on West Virginia's web site here.

"The Wall Street Journal sports reporter managed to visually prove what no one else attending West Virginia University’s Dec. 21, 1984 game against the University of Charleston at the Randolph County Armory in Elkins could (or was willing to do) at the time – that WVU’s Georgeann Wells was the first women’s basketball player to dunk in a game. And he finally did it 25 years after the fact!

"The box score from the game said 715 people attended that night but those who were there say it was probably closer to 500, if that. Shelly Poe, West Virginia’s women’s basketball sports information director at the time, thought there might have been a reporter from the local paper covering the game, but they didn’t bring a photographer. The two closest television stations, Clarksburg’s WBOY and WDTV, weren’t going to Elkins to cover a women’s college basketball game and West Virginia was light on team managers because the game was being played over Christmas break, meaning no one was available to film it.

"The only visual evidence of Wells dunking the ball existed on a VHS tape recorded by the University of Charleston, and its coach, Bud Francis, was not about to give it up. The dunk and the nationwide attention it received at the time was strictly the product of Poe spending a couple of hours on a pay phone inside the arena describing it in great detail to the Associated Press. No proof, just her word."

"It has been 40 years since West Virginia center Georgeann Wells broke the barrier and became the first woman to dunk a basketball in a college game," the Herald Standard says.

"On Dec. 21, 1984, Wells went on to make history. Playing at Elkins Randolph County Armory against the University of Charleston (W.Va.), with 11:18 remaining in the game, Wells received a pass from point guard Lisa Ribble and achieved the first official dunk in a women’s college basketball game. WVU won 110-82.

There is a Fayette County connection with Wells that I became aware of when Alyssa Gallagher, sister of former Laurel Highlands great Rodney Gallagher, on Jan. 22 posted this on X: “40 years ago our cousin Georgeann was the first woman to dunk a basketball.”

"Georgeann Wells, a 6-7 center from Columbus, Ohio, was a four-year letterwinner on WVU’s women’s basketball teams from 1983-86. Most notably, Wells became the first women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game when she did so against Charleston on Dec. 21, 1984, at Elkins’ Randolph County Armory during the Mountaineer Christmas Classic," the West Virginia University Athletics says.

"The dunk instantly made her a national celebrity. Network television, Sports Illustrated, an NCAA luncheon in New York, a display in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s College Basketball Hall of Fame and induction into Houston's Phi Slamma Jama dunking fraternity were just a few of the highlights of one of the school's most memorable moments. Unmatched until 1994, the feat is still one of the sport's most talked-about accomplishments.

"Wells came to WVU as a heavily recruited prep star from Northland High. As a Mountaineer she averaged a double-double for her career (14.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg). She scored 1,484 career points, grabbed 1,075 rebounds and tallied 436 blocks, which still stands by far as the school record. She played in 106 games with 68 career starts, including all 28 her senior season. She was also team captain as a senior. WVU was 66-51 during her career, which included four Atlantic 10 tournament appearances and the postseason WNIT in 1985."

"Still spidery-thin at 6 feet, 6¾ inches, Georgeann Wells couldn't possibly have lost a step since her playing days at West Virginia. She coaches four different AAU basketball teams, tends to three children -- in order of appearance: Curtis, Maddison and Kasey -- and, with her husband Myron Blackwell, runs a teeming summer adventure camp," the ESPN says.

"The secret of Wells' seemingly endless reservoir of energy might lie on the sunlit counter of her kitchen: three coffeemakers, including a high-test espresso machine. Brown eyes blazing, cornrows swinging, she ricochets from venue to venue, positively amped and in good humor.

"In 1983, she blocked 17 shots against Marshall -- still the West Virginia single-game record -- and finished her career with 1,484 points, 1,075 rebounds and 436 blocked shots. Wells, a member of the West Virginia Athletic Hall of Fame, toured briefly with the Harlem Globetrotters and played professionally in Japan, Spain, Italy and France from 1986 to 2003."

"Georgeann Wells, the first woman to dunk a basketball during an official game, Thursday donated the ball to the Basketball Hall of Fame," the UPI says.

"'It was the first ball to be dunked and so it's part of history so we thought we'd give it to the Hall,' said Wells, a junior on the West Virginia University Mountaineers.

"Wells, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, officially became the first woman to dunk a basketball on Dec. 21, 1984, during a game against the University of Charleston. The Mountaineers won 110-82."

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