Kay Dunn was one of Taylor County’s all-time great basketball players

Taylor County has been a hotbed for girls basketball for almost six decades, and it all started when Norman Carter took over in 1960 right out of Mercer, where he had starred in basketball, baseball and tennis.

Carter’s record is well-documented as a girls head coach: 350 wins, only 32 losses, a 132-game winning streak and six state championships — one at Butler and five more at Taylor County after Butler and Reynolds consolidated in 1965. He also coached the Taylor County boys team to the Class C championship in 1966. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

His 1962 Butler team just missed winning another state Class C title. It defeated Chestatee 52-41, Laurens 54-41 and Toombs Central 71-56 before losing 65-58 to Dexter at the Macon City Auditorium before a packed house. Butler, led by All-State forward Kay Dunn, finished the season with a 32-2 record. Dexter’s stars were Caroline Russell and the Lord twins — forward Venita and guard Kay — and it ended the year at 33-1. Girls basketball back in the 1960s was the three-on-three variety with three forwards playing against three guards on each end of the court.

Dunn was a scoring machine, averaging almost 30 points per game as a senior. She had 27 points in a 54-43 win over Crawford County that gave Butler the Region 4-C South title. Then in the state playoffs, she scored 23 against Chestatee in the first round, 38 against Laurens in the quarterfinals, including 22-of-28 from the free-throw line, in a 54-41 win, 34 against Toombs Central in a 71-56 victory in the semifinals and 36 in the finals.

In that championship game, Dexter made 27-of-45 shots from the field for 60 percent while Butler was 25-of-48 for 56 percent. At one time, Dunn’s No. 11 Butler jersey was displayed in the trophy case at Taylor County, along with jersey of other Taylor County greats, including Bunny Fuller, Gail Moore, Shirley Durham, Sandra Arnold and Sissy Riley.

Dunn was a student-athlete before that term came in vogue and was one of the most popular students at Butler. She was named homecoming queen as a senior and changed out of her black and gold basketball uniform into an evening gown and was presented to the crowd before the boys game started. Taylor County didn’t have football at the time, so homecoming was observed at a basketball doubleheader.

Dunn was also Taylor County Forestry Queen and had the lead in the school’s senior play, taking on the role of Hessie in “Hessie in the Hills.”

Carter called Dunn one of the top 10 players he coached during his 12-year career on the sidelines in Butler.

Unfortunately, she died in a tragic home accident in 1998 in her beloved hometown of Butler where she lived her entire life.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Kay Dunn was one of Taylor County’s all-time great basketball players."