Karen Carter (1974-1976)
Karen Carter was the first superstar to wear a women's basketball uniform at Motlow, coming to Lynchburg in 1974 as head coach Pat Sarver was set to begin the school's inaugural women's basketball season. Carter, along with sister Linda who also played for Motlow, came from Decherd and attended Franklin County High School.
Fifty years later, Carter still stands as one of the best players in program history. For her career, she averaged 17.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, one of only three players to average a double-double for their career. Karen averaged 21.9 points per game in her sophomore season, still fifth in the all-time record book. Her 11.3 rebounds per game are tied for third all-time for a season.
Carter was rewarded following her sophomore season with All-American status by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
Aljeanette Bramlett (1977-79)
Aljeanette Bramlett came to Motlow after a great high school career at Giles County in Pulaski, Tennessee, and is regarded as one of the top five players to ever wear a Motlow uniform.
Aljeanette is fourth on the career scoring list with 1,072 points and second all-time in scoring average at 20.1 points per game. She scored 570 points during her freshman season while averaging 22.8 points per game, which is the third-best single-season average on record.
Bramlett's 41 points in a single game in 1978 is tied for third-most all-time and was first until Roschelle Vaughn scored 44 in 1990. Bramlett also scored 37 during a game her sophomore season, which ranks 10th on the all-time single-game record list. She was part of one of Motlow's best teams which finished with a 22-5 record in 1978-79.
Aljeanette was named an All-American by the NJCAA following her sophomore season. She went on to have an outstanding career at Vanderbilt, averaging 18.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in her junior season and 16.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in her senior season.
Mary Smith (1988-90)
Mary Smith was the all-time leading scorer in Motlow women's basketball history from 1990 until 2018, amassing 1,138 points during her two-year career. Smith was a key member of one of Motlow's best women's team, joining with Roschelle Vaughn, Dana Bilyeu, and Traci Melton as the Lady Bucks compiled an all-time best 27-4 record during the 1989-90 season.
Mary is one of only two players listed twice among the top ten single-season scorers of all time. She totaled 617 points during her sophomore season and 521 points during her freshman campaign. Her 18.6 points-per-game scoring average is the sixth-best career mark, and she also is fourth in career steals with 198.
Roschelle Vaughn (1989-91)
Roschelle Vaughn had the single greatest season in Motlow Lady Bucks history as a freshman during the 1989-90 season after coming to Motlow from Charlotte, Tennessee. Although an injury limited her participation during her sophomore campaign, Vaughn is widely regarded as the best player to ever wear a Lady Bucks uniform.
Vaughn is the all-time single-season scoring leader for the Lady Bucks, scoring 756 points during her freshman campaign for an average of 25.2 points per game. In addition, she also pulled down the most rebounds ever during the same season, averaging 13.4 rebounds per game.
Roschelle's 25.4 points per game scoring average for her career is by far the top average in Motlow history. Her 44 points during one game in 1990 is still tied for the single-game record. Her 1,076 career points ranks seventh on the all-time career scoring list.
She continued her basketball career at Tennessee Tech and was named by Sports Illustrated as its women's Player of the Week in December 1992 after averaging 19.7 points and 12 rebounds during three wins. Roschelle was named to the All-American team by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in 1990 and was elected to the Tennessee Tech University Hall of Fame in 2002. She was the Ohio Valley Conference Athlete of the Year in 1993 and was named All-OVC and All-OVC Tournament in both 1992 and 1993.
Dana Bilyeu (1989-91)
Dana Bilyeu is one of the best non-post player in Motlow women's basketball history and is the only player whose name appears on three all-time career leader lists. She was a member of Motlow's best all-time team in 1989-90, although she was overshadowed by Roschelle Vaughn when it came to postseason honors.
Dana averaged 18.2 points per game during her career, seventh on the all-time career list. Her 1,039 points ranks her fifth all-time. She is sixth all-time in assists, averaging 4.8 per game, and finished her career with 211 steals, which is third all-time.
Bilyeu's best season was her sophomore year, when she scored 621 points, third on the single-season list. She is also second in single-season points per game at 23.0. Her 123 steals during 1990-91 is tied for third all-time, and her 6.8 assists per game is fifth all-time for a single season.
She scored 38 points in one game in 1990 and dished out 12 assists in another game during the same season. Her eight steals during one game is tied for fifth all-time, and she sank eight three-pointers in a game in 1991, which remains a school record although Jennifer Moss tied it in 2003.
Dana went on to play collegiately at Tennessee Tech and received multiple honors, including being named Honorable Mention All-OVC in 1992 and the all-conference and all-tournament teams in 1993. She holds the all-time OVC Tournament record for three-point shots made in a single game with eight. She received the Frank Porter Award from Tennessee Tech coaches in 1993 and the John P. Hendrix Leadership Award in both 1992 and 1993.
T'Qwana Pendergrast (2005-07)
T'Qwana Pendergrast had one of the greatest careers in the history of Lady Bucks basketball. She came to Motlow from Maplewood High School in Nashville. She is Motlow's all-time leading rebounder, averaging 10.5 boards per game during her career. She is also the school's second-leading all-time career scorer, pouring in 1,094 points for a 19.5 points per game average.
T'Qwana's 573 points during her freshman season is fifth on the single-season scoring list, followed by 521 points during her sophomore season, which is eighth all-time. She joins Mary Smith as the only two Lady Bucks to be listed twice in the top ten single-season all-time scorers. Her 20.1 points per game during the 2005-06 season is the sixth-best all-time mark.
Pendergrast scored 38 points on March 11, 2006, the sixth-best single-game mark in school history. She pulled down 21 rebounds during one game in 2006 and 19 during a game in 2005, both among the top ten single-game rebounding performances. She was a member of one of Motlow's best teams in 2005-06, a team that finished the season with a 25-4 record and an 18th position in the national polls. She was named an All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association following the 2006-2007 season.
T'Qwana originally committed to play at Middle Tennessee State University between her freshman and sophomore seasons at Motlow, but took her talents to Martin Methodist College following her sophomore season, joining former Lady Bucks teammates Kaneka Brown and Lauren Hudgins on the Lady RedHawks roster. She played professional basketball in Amsterdam.
Janna Lewis (2017-19)
Janna Lewis broke the all-time Motlow scoring record in her final game as a Buck, dropping 28 points in a loss to Chattanooga State on March 4, 2019. The record had been held by Mary Smith since 1990. Lewis ended her brilliant career with 1,153 points, surpassing Smith's 1,138.
Lewis is one of only three Motlow women's basketball players to average a double-double for her career, scoring 19.9 points and hauling down 10.1 rebounds. She ranks second in single-season points, with 703 scored in her sophomore season. She also averaged 11.3 rebounds that same year and 22.7 points per game.
Janna scored 40 points on Feb. 8, 2019, and pulled in 20 rebounds on Dec. 11, 2017.
Lewis was one of the toughest players to ever wear a Motlow uniform. Her drives to the basketball were nearly unstoppable. The NJCAA named Janna Lewis a 2nd Team All-American following the 2018-19 season.