Five new members were inducted into Duncanville ISD’s Athletic Hall of Honor for 2021. The new members were welcomed at a reception and ceremony held in DHS East Cafeteria Jan. 21. A number of local dignitaries, family members, and previous honorees were in the audience.
2021 Hall of Honor inductee Ariel Atkins
Her illustrious career in women’s basketball started as a Duncanville Pantherette. Ariel’s team won two state championships (2012-13) and 150 straight games (2011-14). At the University of Texas she led the women’s basketball team to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 three out of her four years there. She was selected #7 by the Washington Mystics, and named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team and All-Defensive Second Team. The mystics made the WNBA Finals in 2018, and won the championship in 2019. She was named a WNBA All-Star in 2021. In June 2021 Ariel was selected as a member of the USA National Women’s Basketball Team that competed in Tokyo Olympics.
Team USA captured its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. Ariel was unable to attend the Hall of Honor ceremony because she was playing basketball abroad, but the program notes that she’s “grateful for the women who went before her to forge a path in women’s basketball. She is thankful for the relationships she built during her time at Duncanville HS, and will always be grateful for the love and support they bestowed upon her.”
Coach LaJeanna Howard
Coach Howard is the first African American head girls’ basketball coach at Duncanville HS. A former Pantherette who played on teams that took four district titles and one Area Championship, and played on the 2003 State Championship team. She was an assistant coach at DHS in 2016 when Pantherettes won a state title. She returned to Duncanville in 2019 as Head Coach, and during her first year as Head Coach they were named the 2020 UIL Texas Girls Basketball State Champions.
She was a member of the National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a student at DHS. As a collegiate player at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Howard amassed 1,000 points and played in two conference championships. She believes her high school and collegiate experiences helped her develop to be the teacher and coach she needs to be for the Duncanville Pantherettes.
2021 Hall of Honor Inductee Kevin Ozee
Ozee served Duncanville ISD from 1997-2000 as a biology teacher and assistant football coach, returning in 2001 as Athletic Services Coordinator. He became Assistant AD under Bob Alpert, and in 2004 he succeeded his mentor, the late Bob Alpert, as Athletic Director. AD Ozee continued to build upon longstanding community traditions while implementing new initiatives that enhanced those traditions. He is credited with implementing fan-based programs, student-athlete character building initiatives and mentorship programs, and a community-based summer camp program. He also attracted outside athletic events that used district facilities during non-peak times. This served as an economic generator for the community, bringing the 2008 USA Track and Field Southwest Regional meet and others to Duncanville.
Ozee’s many accomplishments include 16 years of interscholastic athletic administration in 5A/6A Texas school districts (13 as AD and 3 as Assistant AD/Coordinator). In 2013, Ozee was named National Athletic Director of the year by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education.
Glenda Goldman Douglass
A Duncanville Pantherette from 1952-56, Glenda lettered all four years of her high school career. During her sophomore year she was named First Team All- District, and averaged 27.8 points in each of her 25 games. As a junior, she was named to the All-Tournament Team in the SWAAU (now known as the Sandra Meadows Classic). She averaged 29 points per game that year, earning All District Honors. The Pantherettes were Co-Champions with Plano High School that year. She was named Co-Captain with Sarah Walker her senior year, and made the All-Tournament team at the SWAAU once again. Glenda scored an incredible 61 points in one game, against Morton HS.
During the same three-game tournament, she scored a total of 150 points. Once again she was awarded All-District honors, averaging 34.2 points in district play. She also made 85% of her free throws. Glenda played the next two years at Paris Junior College, where she scored 83% of her field goal attempts. She returned home to Duncanville with her Paris College teammates to participate in the March of Dimes fundraiser.
Stephanie Glover Wilson
A 1992 DHS graduate, Stephanie had an impressive run on the school’s soccer team. She was a three-year letterman, All-District and All-Regional honors, and a member of the State All Star Team. She earned the MVP Defensive Player Award of the Year her junior year. Wilson was a valuable member of the DHS state championship team in 1990. Stephanie was awarded the prestigious Popeye’s Chicken Soccer Scholarship upon graduation. She played soccer at the University of North Texas in Denton, playing a crucial role in their program as they became National Champions in 1992. She was awarded All Conference Awards and the MVP Defensive Player of the year.
Stephanie also excelled in the classroom, where she received two scholastic scholarships. She was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society at UNT, and graduated Cum Laude with a BS degree. Both of Stephanie’s parents were educators who taught and retired from Duncanville ISD. Following in their footsteps, she became a Physical Education/Health teacher, serving in that capacity over 23 years. Like her father, she also became a coach and spent five years coaching. Stephanie is currently a part-time P.E./Health teacher at a private Christian school in Western North Carolina. She believes all her accomplishments are because of her faith, and she leans on Proverbs 3:5-6 to walk the rest of her days.
