Appalachian State women's basketball Hall of Famer, Valorie Whiteside, is the all-time leading scorer in Southern Conference history, finishing her career with 2,944 points. The three-time All-American was named MVP of the SoCon Tournament in 1987 and 1988, both years that Appalachian State won the championship. Whiteside was named first-team All-Southern Conference three times in her career and her alma mater had her No.33 jersey retired on February 13, 1988. She ranks seventh in NCAA history in scoring average and still holds a staggering 42 Appalachian State records and nine SoCon records.
Her long lists of accomplishments do not end there. After graduating from Appalachian State with a degree in communications, Whiteside embarked on a professional playing career in Europe. She continued to play in countries including Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Italy until 2003.
In 2008, the Executive Committee of the Southern Conference approved the creation of a Hall of Fame to honor outstanding student-athletes, coaches and administrators. On May 4, 2009 Whiteside was honored as one of ten people inducted into the inaugural class. Among the inductees were such notable names as Arnold Palmer, Adrian Peterson, Sam Huff and Jerry West.
At the end of 2011, the women's basketball standout decided to take a stab at coaching. Whiteside was named head girls' basketball coach at Dorman High School in Roebuck, S.C. It was also around the same time that the Hall of Famer was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer.
The diagnosis came as a complete shock to the healthy and active mother of two. She recently had her yearly check-up and the results showed nothing unusual. Then, four months later, during Breast-Cancer Awareness Month, Whiteside decided to do a self-examination, something she was in the habit of doing on a regular basis. Her hand went straight to the lump. She immediately went to the doctor and it was confirmed that she had cancer.
Before being diagnosed with the disease, Whiteside got involved with projects that helped raise awareness for breast cancer. Now, the importance and necessity of organizations such as the Kay Yow Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, really hit home. Whiteside says that she cannot stress enough how crucial self-examinations are. It saved her life.
Whiteside credits a lot of things in helping her get through the difficult times, including basketball. When the fear became her reality, she did what Valorie Whiteside does best; she worked it out on the court.