April 30, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - A pair of former Old Dominion women's basketball players, Wendy Larry and Beth Wilkerson Hammond, will be honored this weekend. Larry will be inducted into her High School Hall of Fame, while Wilkerson will be welcomed into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) Hall of Fame.
Larry, a native of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, will be inducted to the Hall of Fame at Butler High School where she was a standouta women's basketball player. Larry played for Marge Gilles at Butler High before coming to play for the Lady Monarchs as one of the first student-athletes to receive grant-in-aid in 1973.
Larry, the current head coach of the Lady Monarchs, joined the exclusive 600-win club during the 2010-11 season. The coaching legend is just the 20th Division I coach to reach the historic 600-win plateau and she was the 10th fastest to reach the mark. Having just completed her 27th season, Larry is the 12th winningest active coach in Division I women's basketball.
Wilkerson will be honored at the 2011 DAWAHARES/KHSAA Hall of Fame Induction Celebration. Prior to playing for the Lady Monarchs from 1979-1984, Wilkerson was one of the best women's basketball players in the state of Kentucky. Starring for Paris High School and coach Judy Cox, she led the Lady Greyhounds to three State Tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish in 1977.
During her high school career her teams compiled an 83-22 record. Wilkerson started for her team during her eighth grade year and scored more than 1,600 points in her career. In 1979 she was named Kentucky Miss Basketball, First Team Parade Magazine and Converse High School All-American and was selected as the Kentucky Female Athlete of the Year.
While at ODU, Wilkerson enjoyed a successful career as the Lady Monarchs won the 1980 AIAW National Championship and a berth in the 1983 NCAA Final Four.
-ODU-