Samantha (Copenhaver) VanDevender
Basketball (1985-88)

The name Samanantha (Copenhaver) VanDevender and women’s basketball in the mid-1980s are nearly synonymous. One ofthe top all-around players in school history, Samantha’s name still litters the Wildcat record book some 15 years after her last game.

During the years of 1984 through 1988, Samantha was the dominant player, not only on her own team, but also among the rest of the teams in the conference. A first team all-conference selection her sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Samantha wa also named the conference co-Player of the Year in 1986-87. That season, she set five Chico State single season records and reached double figures in points 24 times. Later that year, she led the Wildcats to a conference championship, and a victory over Eastern Montana in the first round of the NCAA Division II regionals.

Samantha topped off her brilliant career by scoring a then-school record 35 points along with pulling down 15 rebounds in a win over San Francisco State during her senior season.

On November 28, 1987, Samantha scored her 1,000th career point against Western Washington University. She became the first woman in Chico State history to reach that vaunted plateau. At the end of her senior season, she was named Chico State’s Female Athlete of the Year.

At the end of her playing career, Samantha was the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder (she’s now third and second, respectively) and still holds the school record for games played with 111. She is listed among the top 10 in seven different career categories and ranks second all-time at CSUC with 23 double-double performances.

Samantha is now a wife, mother and businesswoman in Arizona. Her active lifestyle has not disappeared, though, as she is currently a member of a women’s ice hockey team. She is also expecting her second daughter in January.