Arguably the best basketball player to ever don an A-State jersey, Tate, who played at Arkansas State from 1990-93, remains at the top of the A-State record books in six statistical categories. With 2,312 points, she remains the career scoring leader in both women’s and men’s basketball at Arkansas State. Tate also holds the single-season scoring record at Arkansas State with 820 points during the 1992-93 season and owns the top-five single game scoring performances in school history. She remains the only Arkansas State women’s player to have scored 40 or more points in a single game, a feat she accomplished five times, including a 50-point performance against Louisiana-Lafayette during the 1992-93 season. Tate connected on 95 three-pointers during the 1992-93 season, an A-State record that still stands.
She also holds the single-season rebounding record with 327 boards, is third on the all-time rebounding charts with 1,006, and is the career steals leader with 402. She also owns the top-two single-season steal records with 125 steals during the 1992-93 season and 114 thefts in 1991-92. She remains the only player in ASU history to record a quadruple double, finishing with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in an 86-59 victory at Mississippi Valley State Jan. 27, 1993. Later that season, she led A-State to a 67-54 win over SMU in the finals and earned MVP honors in the National Women’s Invitation Tournament.
Following her freshman season, she was named Co-Newcomer of the Year in the American South Conference. She earned All-American South Conference honors as a sophomore and All-Sun Belt Conference honors as a junior and a senior. Prior to her senior season, she was named preseason first-team All-America by Dick Vitale’s Basketball Magazine and following the season was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and a Kodak All-American.Â
She was also an All-American track and field athlete while at A-State, and remains in the top-10 in Red Wolves’ history in six events. She set the school record in the heptathlon in 1994 with 5,247 points, a mark that remains at No. 2 today.
She was inducted into the Arkansas State Hall of Honor in 2004, two years after finishing her WNBA career with the Minnesota Lynx, where she was a three-year starter. During her time with the Lynx, she led the team in minutes played, assists and steals and was among the top-three rebounders on the team. She also played professionally in France, Russia, Spain, and with the American Basketball League.
