‘We did this for you’: Winston-Salem State wins CIAA title for past and present players

BALTIMORE – In her first season leading the women’s basketball program at her alma mater, Winston-Salem State University head coach Tierra Terry delivered a moment over half a century in the making for the devoted “Ramily” fan base. 

Winston-Salem State (25-3 overall, 14-2 CIAA) capped its historic season by winning the program’s first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) women’s basketball championship, defeating Fayetteville State University 60-43 on Saturday at CFG Bank Arena.

The victory felt even more profound with Kadis “Mama Kay” Hingleton Hull, who played on Winston-Salem State’s team in 1975, in attendance.

“When I hugged her, [I told her] you know, ‘We did this for you guys.’ Without women like that, we wouldn’t be here right now,” Terry said. “So every woman that’s been a part of the program has pushed the needle. … We were just the ones that were blessed enough to come in and get that banner first.”

Hingleton Hull, who has attended every Rams women’s basketball game since 2014, has followed the program for five decades.

When she played for WSSU in the late 1970s, the program didn’t have a full-time women’s basketball coach, and she said legendary Winston-Salem State coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines would give the female basketball players tips.

Hingleton Hull said she knew the current team could win a championship after she observed how Terry’s strict coaching and calm demeanor would bring out the best in the players. 

“We continue to stand on each other’s shoulders, and now we’re at the top, and I believe we will stay there,” Hingleton Hull said. “They know what it feels like. They know what hard work is and what needs happen. They persevered, and now they have the success that they were looking for.

“To take that back to Winston-Salem State University, I think Big House Gaines would be very, very pleased to know that a group of women came along to do the things that he wanted them to do.” 

From the opening tip, the Rams controlled the game’s tempo, building a double-digit cushion they never surrendered. Winston-Salem State suffocated Fayetteville State’s offense and denied the two-time reigning champion an opportunity for a three-peat. 

Forward Nevaeh Farmer led the charge for the Rams in the first half, scoring 18 points and shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Farmer finished the game with 24 points and won Player of the Game for the Rams. Guard Makayla Waleed added 14 points and won CIAA Tournament MVP.

This season has been a drastic improvement from where the program was last year, when Winston-Salem State finished 7-20 overall and 3-13 in the conference. After the game, WSSU alumnus and NBA Hall of Famer Earl Monroe called Terry and the team to congratulate them. 

Hailey Gipson and Dajha William were among dozens of former players who came to Baltimore to watch their former program make history and build upon the foundation they built as student-athletes.

“It is just amazing to see the build-up of the program from where we left it to where they are now,” Gipson said. “We didn’t have a standard before. Now that we have a championship, the standard is set.”

“It’s just the beginning,” Williams added.

Terry, who has lupus, an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue, said after the game that she had experienced a flare-up during the tournament.

“I just fight through. But it means even more to me because I’m in an active flare, and I have been coaching, doing pretty bad physically and trying to push myself through,” Terry said. “So for them to play that hard for me, I mean, sometimes you don’t see that these days, but those young women really, really love us, and we really love them.”

The Rams will now turn their attention to the national stage. Currently slotted as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region, Winston-Salem State awaits its official placement in the NCAA tournament bracket.

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