IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING: COACH VANESSA TAYLOR'S CHAMPIONSHIP TRIUMPH
March 5, 2009
Charlotte, NC - Sometimes you win, sometimes you achieve greatness, but hardly ever do you get a chance to make history! Johnson C. Smith University head women's basketball coach Vanessa Taylor has done all three by winning the 2009 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Women's Basketball Championship on Feb. 28th. Coach Taylor brought the first ever CIAA women's basketball title to Johnson C. Smith in the tournament's 35 years of existence.
"I'm just so overjoyed and elated for the University, our
program, my team, and the city of Charlotte," said Coach Taylor
after winning the title. 
Coach Taylor had climbed this mountain three times before and come up short; advancing to the conference championship game in 2003, 2006, and 2008. This season makes Taylor's eighth season at JCSU, her fourth championship game appearance, and her first conference crown.
Vanessa Taylor is the daughter of Joe Van Taylor and the late Mattie Taylor, a former high school coach for 30-plus years whom she credits everything she has learned. A native of Moultrie, GA, Taylor earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tuskegee University. Taylor played with the Golden Tigers through 88-91 seasons.
Prior to coming to Johnson C. Smith, Taylor accumulated some
collegiate coaching experience at Hampton University. As the top
assistant with Hampton, she helped led the Lady Pirates to a 1994
CIAA Tournament Championship and a Regional Playoff appearance.
In her first head collegiate coach job, Taylor compiled an 83-95 record over seven years as the women's head basketball coach at Elizabeth City State University. Under Taylor's direction, the Lady Vikings won the CIAA Eastern Division Championship and regular-season title in 2000 and 2001. Taylor was selected CIAA Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999, when her teams posted records of 15-13 and 21-6, respectively.
Her career record thus far at JCSU is an impressive 149-89, with this season's team heading towards the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament.
"It's been a blessing to work with such great people, I've had some great experiences, and the thought that our team has made history seems unbelievable," said Taylor. Not only did Taylor deliver the first conference championship to J.C. Smith; she is one win shy of her 150th coaching victory at JCSU and only the second female coach this decade to win the CIAA title. Peggy Davis won the crown in 2002 at Virginia State University and only male coaches won in the 90s.
Taylor has produced seven all-conference student-athletes in her time at JCSU, including two this season. Taylor won her first western division title in 2005-06 and led her team to the CIAA Championship game for only the third time in school history. In addition, her team advanced to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region tournament.
In 2006-07, the team won another western division title; Taylor record her first 20-win season since taking over the program in 2001 and also finished as CIAA runners-up. In 2008, the team once again advanced to the title game but fell just short of the championship. Her team won 21 games that season and earned a berth in the NCAA Regional tournament for the second time in three years.
Now making her third regional appearance in four seasons, Coach Taylor and the Lady Golden Bulls await NCAA Selection Sunday to discover their opponent in the tournament. The story is still unfolding for this season's JCSU women's basketball team and Coach Taylor's career. Regardless of the outcome, on February 28, 2009 in Time Warner Cable Arena history was made, greatness was shown, and a CIAA women's title was won...for the first time, good job Coach Taylor and congratulations.
