Peggy Taylor Davis was Howard Payne’s first women’s basketball All-American, leading the team to its first two postseason tournaments – the NAIA playoffs in 1983 and NCAA Division II playoffs in 1984.The Bastrop native played at Cisco Junior College for two years before transferring to Howard Payne. She was Lone Star Conference Most Valuable Player in 1984, First-Team All-LSC in 1983 and 1984 and the HPU Most Valuable Player twice. Despite playing only two seasons, Davis holds HPU records for most points in a season (738), most rebounds in a season (381), and most field goals in a season (300) – marks all set in 1982-83. She’s also in the top five in career points (5th with 1,404), points scored in a game (5th with 43), career field goals (5th with 577) and career rebounds (3rd with 732). After graduating from HPU, Davis earned a master’s from Tarleton State and then became HPU’s women’s basketball coach. Her 1988-89 team won the TIAA championship. She coached at Angelo State from 1990-1997, building an LSC championship program and earning LSC Coach of the Year honors. Davis then became head women’s basketball coach at Virginia State University, leading her team to a conference title and the NCAA Division II playoffs. Davis then moved into athletics administration at Virginia State, becoming the second female athletic director in the school’s history. She was still serving as AD at the time of her death in 2024.