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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Tami Ramsey has been gone from Davie for 28 years, but if you’re a ‘90s kid, you remember her like it was yesterday.
Miss Everything from the 1992-96 era could play any sport.
Ramsey made the All-Central Piedmont Conference team six times in seven varsity seasons between tennis and basketball, and she was also one helluva softball player, although she hung up the glove after her sophomore year.
In less than three weeks, Ramsey, five other individuals and the 2015-18 girls tennis teams will be immortalized in the Davie High Athletic Hall of Fame. HOF Night for Brian Tribble (Class of 1993), Carrie Brown McGuire (1994), Ramsey (1996), Raeshon McNeil (2005), Alex Appelt (2008), Brian Pitts and the four tennis teams will be Jan. 17 at the home basketball game.
Right away in the fall of 1992, everyone could see that Ramsey was special on the tennis courts. As a freshman, she played No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles with senior Kelly Archer. As a sophomore, she played No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles with junior Jenny Mando. In the Midwest Regional tournament at Hanes Park, Ramsey/Mando came within one win of qualifying for the state, losing in the semifinals to a pair of state-ranked sisters from Eden Morehead (Betsy and Sara Chandler). Ramsey and Brown made the all-CPC team.
“Tami wants to win and does what it takes,” coach MaryAnne Byerly said then.
As a junior, Ramsey played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles with Mando. During a 3-1 run in the regional, the tandem became the first War Eagles to qualify for the state tournament since Davie moved from 3-A to 4-A in 1985. Ramsey, Mando and Beth Campbell were named to the all-CPC team.
Ramsey played No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles – this time paired with Campbell – again as a senior. Ramsey and Campbell earned all-conference for the third and second times, respectively.
“Beth is steady, Tami is flashy,” Byerly said then.
•••
Ramsey found immediate stardom in softball, playing third base and outfield and swinging a powerful bat as a freshman. Coach Darrell Steele’s War Eagles went 15-3 overall and 12-2 in the CPC in 1993, finishing second to 13-1 West Forsyth.
“She bats fourth because she has the big bat,” Steele said then. “That’s why we call her Rambo.”
In the spring of 1994, Ramsey banged five triples in two games and helped Davie post a 14-8 record. After her sophomore year, though, Ramsey decided to give up softball to “play travel basketball,” she said last week. “Softball got a little slow for me.”
•••
While Ramsey was all-everything, basketball was her thing. The 1992-93 JV squad was virtually unstoppable, going 19-1 under coach Sherrie Myers.
A year later, it was apparent to coach Angie Slabach that Ramsey had an uncommon level of maturity and confidence. The only other sophomore to make the 1993-94 varsity roster was Jonette Williard.
“She has really worked on her game and improved tremendously,” Slabach said then. “She’s really been a bright spot.”
It was one of the giddiest seasons ever. The War Eagles went 13-1 to capture their first regular-season title in 10 years. They claimed the CPC Tournament for the first time in five years. A 60-59 decision over Hoke County in the West Sectional final was a captivating win that sent Davie to the Elite Eight for the first time in 15 years. Ramsey had seven of her 14 points in the tone-setting first quarter.
“They believe they are going to Chapel Hill for the state finals,” Slabach said after Davie’s 19th win in 20 games. “Tami may be a sophomore, but she isn’t scared. She comes out fired up and ready to go.”
In the Western Regional at Hickory High, Davie ran into an unbelievably great Freedom team that boasted two 6-3 players. The Patriots bounced Davie 66-47, improved to 26-1 and went on to win the state championship.
Meanwhile, Davie’s joyride ended at 22-6. The centerpiece was 6-3 Maria Newsome (14.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, CPC Player of the Year). Her frontcourt sidekick was 6-0 Shannon Umberger. Davie’s all-CPC selections included Brown; Andrea Gentry, who made it for the third time; and Ramsey, who was the team’s No. 2 scorer at 11.4.
“Tami is going to have a great career,” Slabach said. “She can take it inside or shoot outside, and she works hard in the offseason.”
After the 1993-94 season, Slabach gave up coaching to raise a family and Laddin Lakey was promoted from JV coach. The 1994-95 squad didn’t want to just win, it wanted to destroy anyone or anything in its path. Lakey’s debut as varsity coach was an 85-51 stomping of West Rowan. Ramsey rung up 21 points in a 68-62 win over North Iredell, and Reynolds coach Jeff Faullin was left in awe during a 50-32 loss to Davie.
“They have four legitimate players,” Faullin said. “Elizabeth Greene is an excellent player. She’s a scrapper. Beth Wall is a great point guard. Maria is strong in the post. Tami just does everything.”
The War Eagles went 12-0 in the CPC and swept the league titles for the second year in a row. They shaved West Forsyth 66-64 in the CPC Tournament final behind late heroics from Greene and Wall.
“It’s wonderful,” Lakey said. “The girls played their hearts out.”
Davie’s winning streak reached 18 when it smacked visiting Purnell Swett 59-41 in the Sectional 2 final. Newsome swallowed up the Rams with 21 points and 21 rebounds.
The War Eagles were back in the Western Regional, but they were out of sync all night and lost 44-39 to North Forsyth, the glorious season ending at 25-2.
“When we get to be 70 years old, we can say we were 25-2,” Lakey said.
The all-CPC team included Player of the Year Newsome (15.5 points, 16 rebounds), Ramsey (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Wall (7.5 points, 5 assists).
Lakey decided to return home to Yadkin County, bolting for the coaching job at Forbush. His successor in 1995-96 was Mike Dinkins. Although Davie was seeing its third coach in three years, point guard Williard and the warrior who never seemed to get rattled – shooting guard Ramsey – sustained Davie’s winning ways.
A 52-49 win over North Davidson was powered by Ramsey’s 20 points and Williard’s 19. After back-to-back losses, Davie forced a three-way tie for second with a come-from-behind 60-51 win over Mt. Tabor. Clutch 3-pointers from Ramsey and Roxanne Steele ignited a 19-7 run that wiped out a 44-41 deficit. Davie rallied again at North Davidson, scoring 42 second-half points to win 62-50 and lock up sole possession of second. Williard starred with 23 points. Carrie Brill worked inside for 12 points and 12 rebounds. Ramsey scored 11, drilled 7 of 8 free throws and pulled down seven boards. In the CPC Tournament semifinals against Tabor, Williard nailed a tiebreaker 3 at :40 and Davie survived 51-48.
The championship game was held at Reynolds. Awaiting Davie was top-seeded West Forsyth and its monstrous center, 6-1 junior Laquanda Barksdale, a UNC signee who piled up 31 points, 25 rebounds and seven blocks in a 74-55 semifinal win over N. Davidson.
The result was an iconic upset, 44-33. Ramsey (15 points, eight rebounds), Willard (10 points, nine rebounds) and Page Steed (6-for-6 free throws in the final moments) upstaged Barksdale, who was restricted to nine points by a collapsing zone defense as Davie won the tournament for the fourth straight year.
Ramsey always had a gambler’s guts. After Davie had trailed for 19 minutes, she sank a 19-footer to give her team a 30-29 lead it would not relinquish.
“We wanted it more,” Williard said. “Now we get to shave Dinkins’ head.”
In the first round of the playoffs, Davie outlasted Jordan 48-40 as Ramsey sparkled with 20 points and 12 rebounds. It was the last home game for Ramsey, Williard, Brill, Steele and Laura Moyer.
In the second round, Davie scratched and clawed for a 40-38 win at North Forsyth, which was sweet revenge for the stunning regional loss at Lenior-Rhyne the year before. The moment was special for another reason: Ramsey came in with 996 career points but only had two with 5:02 remaining, at which point Davie trailed 34-31. Ramsey notched points 999 and 1,000 with a double-pump leaner. With Davie down by three at 2:15, Ramsey converted two clutch free throws. Williard got a steal and threw long to Ramsey, who banged a 3 to give Davie a 38-36 lead. Then Ramsey sank a baseline shot for the game’s final points.
In the sectional final, Davie traveled to Durham and met a Hillside team that had no equal. The Hornets pressed fullcourt for 32 minutes, routed Davie 84-56 and rolled to the state championship. Ramsey had 17 points in defeat. When the 19-9 season was in the books, it was hard for Dinkins to hold back the tears.
“We accomplished so much,” he said. “We gelled and peaked at the right time. It’s unbelievable for a first-year coach to walk into a situation like that.”
Ramsey, who averaged 13.9 points and delivered double figures in her last 24 games, made all-CPC for the third time. Williard, who averaged 14.3, was also named from Davie.
It was an extraordinary run for Ramsey and the War Eagles, who went 66-17 with two regular-season titles and three CPC Tournament titles during her three varsity seasons. Her crowning achievement was joining the 1,000-point club; there have been 11 in Davie’s 69-year history. Only three have joined the illustrious group since Ramsey’s career ended with 1,024 points.
“Tami was good at everything,” Byerly said recently. “Tami was serious about it. After tennis practice, I would go jog and Tami would go jog with me.”
“Honestly I never imagined that for myself, and it made me feel very fortunate,” Ramsey said of making the hall of fame. “I played with so many good athletes coming through Davie. I feel blessed to have played with them and on those really successful basketball teams.”
Ramsey earned a basketball scholarship to High Point.
“I was very impressed with Tami both as a player and a person,” High Point coach Joe Ellenburg said in 1996. “She’s strong physically and has a great touch. She’s so aggressive; she gets after it. I feel like I have a diamond in the rough.”
•••
Ramsey played one year for the Panthers. She transferred to Appalachian State, but did not play basketball. She graduated from there in 2001 and then began a PE teacher/coaching career at North Iredell.
She was the Raiders’ JV girls basketball coach for five years. When Kent Blackwelder retired in 2006, Ramsey took over the varsity reins. She enjoyed an unforgettable run from 2006-07 through 2011-12: five straight North Piedmont Conference regular-season titles (2008-09 through 2012-13), four straight NPC Tournament crowns (2008-09 through 2011-12), two 3-A West Regional finals (2009, 2010) and a six-year record of 104-47, including a 69-11 mark in her last three years. She also had coaching stints in girls and boys tennis, cross country and girls golf.
Ramsey had a basketball powerhouse, but her mother was suffering failing health. She wanted to be closer to her mom in Asheville, so she resigned from N. Iredell and became the varsity basketball coach at North Buncombe.
“I felt like it was God’s will for me,” Ramsey said in 2012. “It’s the hardest decision I think I’ve had to make in my life, but I have peace about the decision and I feel like it’s what I’m supposed to do. I’ll never forget all the great memories.”
“She is a No. 1, grade-A class act,” North athletic director Nick Tomlin said in 2012. “She did all the little things right. It was a privilege to get to work with her. I understand her situation with her resignation and totally respect that.”
She guided North Buncombe for 10 years (2012-13 through 2021-22) and added three league championships to her legend. She retired from coaching with 12 regular season/tournament titles and a record of 223-163.
What else is there to say about Tami Ramsey? What an athlete. What a force in three sports. And what a run it was for 16 years on the basketball sidelines.
“I went to watch her coach and it was amazing,” Byerly said. “I wanted to watch her coach a game at North Iredell and Angie and I went UNC-G when her team was in the final eight. Her teams were well coached. She never would give herself credit for what she had done with her team, but it was something to see.”