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Her stay wasn’t as lengthy as desired, but Vandberbilt women’s basketball coach and Fayetteville native Shea Ralph found an adequate silver lining.
Ralph had the rare opportunity to coach in her home state Friday night, the No. 7 Commodores taking on 10-seed Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Down by 19 points in the third quarter, Ralph’s Vanderbilt team rallied to take the game to overtime before ultimately falling 77-73.
Nevertheless, it felt good to be home.
“It means everything. I was so excited when we got the draw to come here,” Ralph said. “My mom was not. My mom went to North Carolina, so that was kind of an issue for her. But my uncle did play football here at Duke, and I grew up right down the road. For those of you that don't know, Fayetteville is like an hour and a half, like my entire family's here.
“I wouldn't be the person I am without the things that — the people that I grew up with, the things that I went through in North Carolina. It's great to be back here, and I'm also really happy to be representing Vanderbilt in a new phase of my life, kind of full circle for me as a player.”
ICONIC: Terry Sanford's Shea Ralph, women's basketball game-changer, named to NC Hall of Fame
DREAM DENIED: 'That was a tough one': Top-seeded Terry Sanford denied trip to 3A state championship
Ralph has a 73-59 record at Vanderbilt through four seasons. After the Commodores finished with a losing record her first two years, they earned back-to-back 20-win seasons each accompanied by berths in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Before molding young basketball savants, Ralph left an indelible mark on high school basketball in North Carolina. A standout for Fayetteville’s Terry Sanford HIgh, she held 17 state records upon her graduation in 1996. Among those was her 39.1 points per game scoring average, a record which thrust Ralph back into headlines over the past few months as Bessemer City’s Tionna Pettus chased the all-time mark.
Finishing with 3,002 career points, Ralph was named an NCHSAA Athlete of the Year, a WBCA All-American and USA Today National Player of the Year. She went on to play for UConn, scoring 1,678 points and helped the Huskies to the 2000 National Championship, with Ralph being named 2000 Women’s Final Four MVP.
“I was probably the most stubborn player of all time, both in high school and in college,” Ralph said. “But all of those moments that I just talked to you guys about, and a lot of them were in high school, made me the coach, I think, and the person that I am now. It's exactly why I do what I do.”
Vanderbilt finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-11 record. However, she feels Vanderbilt’s brightest days may be ahead of them.
“I think what's made it special is the growth that we've had,” she said. “I know that, when I sit back and I'm asking the players to do something that I'm not capable of doing right now, right? I'm still thinking about it sucks that we lost the game. We should be playing on Sunday, and we're not. Why is that?
“I want to keep moving in the right direction. I just hate losing. I hate it. So I have to remember in those moments when I feel that to practice what I preach with the players. I have to remember that my steps are ordered as are theirs. I know they're here for the right reason. I know I'm here for the right reason, and together we'll keep this moving in the right direction. We'll be a force to be reckoned with from here on out.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Vanderbilt basketball's Shea Ralph returns to NC for Women's March Madness
Continue reading...
Ralph had the rare opportunity to coach in her home state Friday night, the No. 7 Commodores taking on 10-seed Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Down by 19 points in the third quarter, Ralph’s Vanderbilt team rallied to take the game to overtime before ultimately falling 77-73.
Nevertheless, it felt good to be home.
“It means everything. I was so excited when we got the draw to come here,” Ralph said. “My mom was not. My mom went to North Carolina, so that was kind of an issue for her. But my uncle did play football here at Duke, and I grew up right down the road. For those of you that don't know, Fayetteville is like an hour and a half, like my entire family's here.
“I wouldn't be the person I am without the things that — the people that I grew up with, the things that I went through in North Carolina. It's great to be back here, and I'm also really happy to be representing Vanderbilt in a new phase of my life, kind of full circle for me as a player.”
ICONIC: Terry Sanford's Shea Ralph, women's basketball game-changer, named to NC Hall of Fame
DREAM DENIED: 'That was a tough one': Top-seeded Terry Sanford denied trip to 3A state championship
Ralph has a 73-59 record at Vanderbilt through four seasons. After the Commodores finished with a losing record her first two years, they earned back-to-back 20-win seasons each accompanied by berths in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Before molding young basketball savants, Ralph left an indelible mark on high school basketball in North Carolina. A standout for Fayetteville’s Terry Sanford HIgh, she held 17 state records upon her graduation in 1996. Among those was her 39.1 points per game scoring average, a record which thrust Ralph back into headlines over the past few months as Bessemer City’s Tionna Pettus chased the all-time mark.
Finishing with 3,002 career points, Ralph was named an NCHSAA Athlete of the Year, a WBCA All-American and USA Today National Player of the Year. She went on to play for UConn, scoring 1,678 points and helped the Huskies to the 2000 National Championship, with Ralph being named 2000 Women’s Final Four MVP.
“I was probably the most stubborn player of all time, both in high school and in college,” Ralph said. “But all of those moments that I just talked to you guys about, and a lot of them were in high school, made me the coach, I think, and the person that I am now. It's exactly why I do what I do.”
Vanderbilt finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-11 record. However, she feels Vanderbilt’s brightest days may be ahead of them.
“I think what's made it special is the growth that we've had,” she said. “I know that, when I sit back and I'm asking the players to do something that I'm not capable of doing right now, right? I'm still thinking about it sucks that we lost the game. We should be playing on Sunday, and we're not. Why is that?
“I want to keep moving in the right direction. I just hate losing. I hate it. So I have to remember in those moments when I feel that to practice what I preach with the players. I have to remember that my steps are ordered as are theirs. I know they're here for the right reason. I know I'm here for the right reason, and together we'll keep this moving in the right direction. We'll be a force to be reckoned with from here on out.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Vanderbilt basketball's Shea Ralph returns to NC for Women's March Madness
Continue reading...
