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Aiming for WNBA's 'grand slam'
06/20/02
ABBY HAIGHT
The Oregonian

Winning comes first. Sylvia Crawley wants to make that clear.

But the Portland Fire center also will take the court tonight against Indiana at the Rose Garden with a personal wish at the back of her mind -- to become the first player in the WNBA to dunk the basketball during a game.

If the chance arrives, Crawley has the green light to slam.

"It's just a goal that I have, to be a part of history for this league -- to be the first," Crawley said. "Not to mention the little girls who would see it and know they can learn to dunk."

The 6-foot-5 Crawley and Michelle Snow, a 6-5 rookie center for Houston, are the leading contenders to be the first to dunk in the WNBA. Snow was responsible for three of the six official dunks by women in college basketball as a standout at Tennessee.

Although WNBA officials have touted its below-the-rim game as pure and entertaining basketball -- with thrills enough from its passionate play and three-point shooting -- the league hasn't hid its desire to see a little of the above-the-rim flash of the men's game.

The WNBA promoted Snow coming out of college as a player likely to take the league above the rim.

"The league wants it," Crawley said. "They've said it, in so many ways."

Los Angeles center Lisa Leslie tried to dunk but failed in 1997 in the first nationally televised WNBA game.

Crawley dunked for the first time as a sophomore at North Carolina, but the showy shot might have been in her genes.

Crawley's cousin, Georgeann Wells, was the first woman college player to dunk in a game when she played at West Virginia. The 6-7 center did it first against the University of Charleston on Dec. 21, 1984. Wells dunked again against Xavier.

Or maybe it was the university. The only other woman to dunk in a game was North Carolina's 6-foot Charlotte Smith, with a thrilling one-handed jam against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 4, 1994.

For Crawley, the first time was an accident. While playing in a pick-up game against men, her teammate threw an alley-oop pass.

"I jumped up and slammed it," Crawley said.

No one realized until later that the rim was a little below regulation height. But word got around quickly. Several newspapers sought interviews and pictures.

"I'm going, 'Oh, my gosh, I didn't even know how I did it,' " Crawley said. "I begged coach (Sylvia) Hatchell to tell them I couldn't do it."

Crawley tried, again and again, in front of the newspaper cameras, with her teammates offering tips and encouragement. On her 11th try, Crawley dunked.

"My hands were red and throbbing," she said. "My legs were gone."

Once she figured out the timing, Crawley helped her North Carolina teammates -- including Smith and track superstar Marion Jones -- learn to dunk. She has encouraged other players -- 6-7 Kara Wolters and Fire teammate Kristin Folkl, who is 6-2 but one of the best leapers on the team.

Crawley has dunked as a professional, winning the American Basketball League slam dunk contest wearing a blindfold.

Why don't more women -- with height and athleticism -- dunk? Because they were never encouraged, Crawley said.

Young boys have older role models to encourage them and show them how to dunk.

"No one was taking the girls out," Crawley said. "So no one was encouraging them to do it."

And Crawley is mindful of the jabs Leslie took for trying and missing.

"If it was easy -- we have some very great players in this league -- it would have been done," she said.

Crawley and Snow share the sentiment that dunking comes a distant second to playing the team ball that leads to a victory.

"Some people criticize it, some people praise it," Snow told the Houston Chronicle. "I mean, it's just two points. It's exciting for the fans, though. They love it."

Crawley almost always dunks in the Fire layup line before home games. Someday, perhaps tonight, perhaps next month, she will find herself with enough open space to try her right-handed jam.

"People forget how mental basketball is," Crawley said. "I'm sure there are many players in the league who think, 'Forget about it. If it comes, it comes.' "