Darla Pannier
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- Year Inducted:
- 1989
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- Sport(s):
- Women's Basketball
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- Inductee Category:
- Athlete
Darla Pannier was an up and coming star on the women's basketball team when she stepped onto the CMC campus in the fall of 1988. A blue chip prospect, Darla came from Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Pannier was a three-time Missouri All-State Class 4A First Team All-American for the Tigers, finishing her high school career with more than 30 girls basketball records.
In her lone season with the Eagles in 1988-89, she had one of the greatest single-seasons in program history. Pannier averaged a program best 29.6 points/game, which was the second best scoring average in the nation that season. She also nailed 303 of her field goal attempts, also a single-season school record. She was named the NAIA National Player of the Week on February 13, 1989. For her efforts in her freshman campaign, Pannier was named a NAIA College Kodiak First Team All-American.
Her life was tragically cut short the following summer from injuries sustained in a car accident. To honor Darla, the University now awards the Pannier Female Athlete of the Year, an award given to an oustanding female athlete based on scholarship, spirit, ability, leadership, citizenship, and moral & spiritual qualities.
Darla was posthumously inducted into the Hairston Hall of Fame in 1989.
