American University

One of the great passers in AU women’s basketball history was Jody Thornton Powell. In her career from 1983-87, she recorded 693 assists, ranking at the top of the school charts.

In her rookie season, she finished with 143 assists, followed by 163 in 1984-85. Her total jumped to 193 in her junior year, while she had 194 assists in her senior campaign.

In addition to creating scoring opportunities for her teammates, Thornton Powell played a key role on the defensive side of the ball, registering 244 steals in her career. She earned CAA All-Defensive and All-Tournament team honors in 1987. She earned First Team All-CAA honors in 1986 and First Team All-ECAC Sout honors in 1985. She led the Eagles to back-to-back 20-win seasons in her junior and senior years.

She ended her career as the program leader in scoring, assists, steals, games played and games started.

Powell received her bachelor's degree from the School of Communication in 1987.