Barbara Kennedy

Barbara Elaine Kennedy-Dixon (January 19, 1960 – July 23, 2018) was an American basketball player. She played college basketball at Clemson. In 1981–82, her senior season with the Tigers, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began to officially sponsor women's basketball. She finished that season becoming the first player to lead Division I women's basketball in scoring. Early life Kennedy-Dixon was born on January 19, 1960, in San Diego, California. She grew up in Rome, Georgia, where she attended East Rome High School. College career Kennedy-Dixon played for the Clemson Tigers from 1978 to 1982. As a freshman, Kennedy-Dixon was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and selected to the All-ACC Rookie Team. Kennedy-Dixon would be a first-team All-ACC selection in each of her final three seasons at Clemson. She was also named a first-team All-American by the American Women's Sports Foundation in 1981 and Kodak in 1982. In 1981–82, her senior season, the NCAA began to officially sponsor women's basketball. In her senior day game against North Carolina, she scored 42 points. During this time period of college basketball, universities often scheduled double-headers featuring both their women's and men's basketball programs. Kennedy-Dixon returned to the court for the men's game following her senior day game to sing the national anthem. On March 12, 1982, Kennedy-Dixon scored the first points in the inaugural NCAA women's basketball tournament, playing against Notre Dame. She finished the game with 43 points, though Clemson would lose to Penn State. Following the 2023 tournament, it remains the sixth-highest scoring output in NCAA Division I women's tournament history. She finished her senior season leading Division I women's basketball in scoring, with 29.3 points per game. As her senior season coincided with the NCAA beginning to officially sponsor women's basketball, she was the first player to finish as Division I's scoring leader.