Tanisha Adams Dixon was a highly decorated basketball player who also starred in volleyball for the Lady Bulldogs from 1994-98. By the time she finished her playing career, the 5-foot-9 forward from Sanford, N.C., had a place in all the basketball record books and was a two-time Kiwanis Female Athlete of the Year at Barton (junior and senior years). She ranks third all-time in scoring with 1,695 points and is among the all-time leaders in rebounds (913) and steals (293). The consummate team player also recorded 143 assists in 102 career games. She averaged 16.7 points, nine rebounds and 2.9 assists over four years, garnering all-conference honors her final three seasons. She was 692-of-1310 from the field for 53-percent accuracy during her career.
Dixon was runner-up in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Freshman of the Year balloting in 1994-95. She is the only player in women’s basketball history at Barton to garner team MVP honors all four seasons (shared it three times). She was a selection of the Daktronics All-East Region first team in 1996-97 after averaging 20.6 points, eight rebounds and 4.8 assists. She scored 1,296 points that season.
The Lady Bulldogs were 56-48 during her career, placing fourth in the league her sophomore and junior seasons.
“Tanisha was definitely undersized for her position,” said long-time Barton women’s basketball coach Wendee Saintsing, “but she just outworked people. She was pretty quick and tenacious, so she had quite a few steals. She was also a good team leader. She would be very vocal and excited about what we were doing, so she motivated her teammates because of the way she played.”
Dixon was also a fine volleyball player, starting all four years for Coach Saintsing in that sport.
“She was just a good kid who was an excellent all-around athlete,” Saintsing said.
In high school, Dixon was a basketball, volleyball, and track standout at Lee County Senior in Sanford. She was four-time team MVP in track and set the school record in the 200-meter dash. She was twice named team MVP in basketball and volleyball and was four-time All-Conference and two-time Conference Player of the Year in basketball. Dixon majored in Environmental Science and Biology at Barton, and is currently a compliance officer with the Food & Drug Administration in Rockville, Md. She and her husband, Winston, live in Randallstown, Md.
Dixon gives a lot of credit for her success to her mom, Elaine, who was a basketball star at Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C., and her father, Levi McAuley. Elaine Adams is a member of the Methodist University Athletic Hall of Fame.
“I have a lot of great memories,” Dixon said. “I’m glad I chose Barton. It was just a great family atmosphere where everyone looked after you and wanted you to excel. And, the science degree I got there helped me get my job. I’m a family person, and Barton College is part of my family.”
