The University of Mississippi Athletics
Eugenia Conner Elected to Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
9/22/2016 | Women's Basketball
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Release
OXFORD, Miss. -- Former Ole Miss women's basketball great, Eugenia Conner, will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, posthumously, as a member of the 2017 Induction Class it was announced on Thursday.
Conner -- the lone Ole Miss representative in the 2017 class -- is one of six Mississippi greats who will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Other members of the 2017 Class are former Clarion-Ledger sports columnist Rick Cleveland; former Jackson State baseball coach/athletic director Bob Braddy; former Oklahoma and Southern Miss running back Marcus Dupree; Baltimore Ravens defensive backs coach Leslie Frazier, who played at Alcorn State; and former Mississippi State baseball player Jay Powell, who coaches at Jackson Academy.
Voting was done by a statewide selection committee representing all facets of Mississippi sports.
Eugenia Conner is one of the most decorated players to ever don an Ole Miss women's basketball uniform. A Gulfport, Mississippi native, Conner became the first Ole Miss women's basketball player to be named All-SEC first team all fours years and is still one of just two Rebels to earn that distinction. Recruited to Ole Miss by the legendary, Peggie Gillom, she formed a formidable inside combination with the younger Gillom, Jennifer.
The two-time SEC All-Tournament team selection, scored 1,993 career points and grabbed 1,177 career rebounds making her one of just three players to complete the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound feat.
A stalwart on the defensive end, Conner's name is etched in the Ole Miss record books. She ranks third all-time with 1,177 career rebounds and is second all-time with 194 blocked shots. Conner still holds the single-game record for rebounds in a game with 24 rebounds against Western Kentucky during the 1982-83 season, while her six rejections against Mercer in 1983-84 ranks second on Ole Miss' single-game list. While a force on the defensive end of the floor, Conner is No. 4 on Ole Miss' all-time scoring list with 1,993 career points. With her 39 points against Cheyney State in 1983-84, she still ranks No. 3 on Ole Miss single-game scoring list.
The Rebels were a team to be reckoned with on the national stage during Conner's career. Under the tutelage of the legendary Van Chancellor, Conner and the Rebels reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 1981-82 and returned each of her years at Ole Miss, advancing to the Elite Eight in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. Conner passed away in 1994 at the age of 30.
Conner becomes the 75th Ole Miss representative in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, dating back to the inaugural class of 1961. She is the third Ole Miss women's basketball player in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. She joins Van Chancellor, Peggie Gillom-Granderson and Jennifer Gillom as Ole Miss women's basketball representatives in the Hall of Fame.
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction Weekend will be held August 4-5, 2017. The weekend's events include the Drawdown of Champions at the Museum on Friday night, Meet the Inductees at the Museum Saturday morning, and the formal enshrinement and banquet on Saturday evening at the Jackson Convention Complex
Ole Miss women's basketball season tickets are available for purchase and are just $50. For additional ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587.)
For all Ole Miss women's basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and Instagram at OleMissWBB. Also follow the squad on Snapchat at OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
