Women’s basketball All-American Cornelia Gayden, the most prolific three-point shooter in school history is a member of the 2025 LSU Athletics Hall of Fame induction class and will be formally enshrined on Friday, September 19, at the Manship Theater in downtown Baton Rouge.
The other members of the 2025 class are men’s basketball coach John Brady, who directed the Tigers to the 2006 Final Four; men’s golf coach J. Perry Cole, who guided the Tigers to NCAA national championships in 1940 and 1942; gymnast Rheagan Courville Branton, a 23-time All-American and two-time NCAA vault national champion; three-time All-SEC men’s basketball forward Ronald Dupree, who helped lead the Tigers to the 2000 NCAA Sweet 16; and four-time LSU women’s basketball All-American Temeka Johnson, who led the Tigers to Final Fours in 2004 and 2005.
Former LSU women’s basketball standout Cornelia Gayden will be inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. She was extremely honored and humbled by the selection.
“Words can’t describe how grateful I am,” Gayden said. “It means the school, the officials, and everyone on the committee thought enough about me to say that I was one of the best. It means even more to me now that I’m an alumnus to know that my commitment to the university didn’t go unnoticed.”
Prior to her time at LSU, the Bogue Chitto, Miss., native played high school ball in her hometown – about 100 miles from Baton Rouge – leading Bogue Chitto High to three consecutive state titles from 1988-1990 and receiving the Ms. Basketball award for the state of Mississippi in 1990.
Gayden decided to attend LSU and played for the Tigers for four years from 1991-1995 under legendary head coach Sue Gunter. She recorded a career average of 22.3 points per game to go along with 8.1 rebounds per contest, very impressive numbers for a 5-foot-9 guard.
She led the SEC in points per game from 1993-1995 and was selected to the All-SEC First Team in each of those seasons as well. Gayden was also selected as an AP All-American her senior year in 1995, and she was named a finalist for the AP Player of the Year award.
The guard was way ahead of her time when it came to shooting the rock – twice she led the conference in three-pointers made. In just her first year of college ball, she led the SEC in three-point percentage, knocking down .458% of her looks from beyond the arc. She also that year topped the conference in free-throw percentage with .793%.
One of her most notable nights in her LSU career came against Jackson State in February of 1995. The senior connected on an NCAA record 12 three-pointers en route to scoring a school record 49 points in the 92-62 win. When recalling that night, Gayden was as humble as can be.
“That night wasn’t about me,” she said. “Winning that game marked Coach Gunter’s 500th career win. So, I was really emotionally trying to do whatever it was I could do to make sure she got that, because I wanted to see her achieve 500 wins.”
Gayden was also well-known for her consistency. She appeared in every single game in her four seasons donning the purple and gold, which also led the conference during that span. By the time her LSU career was over, she placed fourth on the school’s all-time leading scorers list, amassing almost 2,500 points, and she held the NCAA record for three-pointers made with 337.
Gayden credits her time at LSU as a “game changer” in her life and pivotal to making her a better person. She acknowledges that it was her coach who helped make that happen.
“Coach Gunter was an amazing mentor who was very compassionate with all of her players,” Gayden explained. “It did not matter how good they were. She took care of everybody and was a great model of showing service to other people. She molded me into the person I am today.”
Following her time as a Tiger, Gayden played professionally for 10 years both domestically and abroad. She played for the Atlanta Glory of the American Basketball League as well as a one-year stint with the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle – later the Connecticut Sun – in 2000, when she was coached by Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Carolyn Peck. Gayden’s time playing overseas was spent in Portugal, Italy, Greece and Israel until 2005.
Gayden now resides back home in Mississippi and is an active member in her community, including serving with her local school board and church.
She finds herself back at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to watch LSU’s national championship program, under the helm of Kim Mulkey, quite often.
“I’m a season ticket holder, I always love coming back,” Gayden said. She advises current and future players to always maximize their God-given talents and focus on the “why.”
Cornelia Gayden is a legend within the women’s basketball program at LSU. She has always had the accolades to prove it, but becoming a member of the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame solidifies the incredible player she was and person she is.