Andrews – As a physical education teacher at Andrews Elementary School, Cissy Bristol Dyer can look out a classroom window and see Andrews High School across the street.
As a 1977 graduate at the school, Dyer has a lot of memories there – and a lot of people still have memories of her, too. That’s why on Friday night, she became the first Wildcat to have their jersey retired at the school.
“I’ve always been a person who didn’t like to give anybody a lot of recognition. I tried to give everybody recognition,” former Andrews coach Ken Solesbee said. “I didn’t want to pick somebody out and just give them recognition, even though they might’ve deserved it, and I know Cissy deserves that.”
Dyer, then known as Cissy Bristol, starred under Solesbee and helped lead the Lady Wildcats to the 1977 N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A state championship. It was the first time the state had broken up basketball into classifications, and remains the school’s only girls state championship.
Dyer hit the game-winning free throws in Andrews’ 35-33 overtime win versus Princeton in the state championship game, which were the only points scored in the extra period. Not only did the Lady Wildcats win the state basketball championship that year, but they also ended the season undefeated at 29-0.
“We had a really good team,” Dyer said. “All five starters could compete with anybody at this day and age.”
Though Solesbee said all five starters on that team could have been the leading scorer on any night, Dyer was the leader. She made an impact on both ends of the floor, and never wanted to be taken out of the game.
Solesbee was just a few years into his coaching career at the time. He knew Dyer was good, but over time has appreciated just how good she was.
After graduating from Andrews, Dyer played at Clemson, where she was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference player in 1979. Pat Summit tried to recruit her to Tennessee early in her legendary coaching career before passing on her for another player.
“It’s just hard to say what makes leaders, but she’s just that way,” Solesbee said. “You just know those things. I played all my life, and you know when you have those kind of people on your team.”
Dyer’s legacy was already intact from her playing days, but only grew with her success as a coach. With Solesbee still on the sideline in Andrews, Dyer became the girls basketball and softball coach at Murphy, winning two state championships in each sport.
As a coach, Dyer said she focused on fundamentals, like Solesbee did with her team, making sure they were intense competitors while also having fun in the process.
Holly Gutierrez, who played under Dyer from 1996-99 and is an assistant coach for the Lady Bulldogs, said Dyer would shoot free throws until she missed during water breaks at practice. However many she made, that’s how many points they were supposed to beat their next opponent by.
“Just little things like that, giving you motivation, keeping it light,” Gutierrez said. “But when the whistle blew and you were back in practice, you weren’t messing around. I think she just balanced that really well.”
Dyer has already been inducted into both the Andrews and Murphy Athletic Halls of Fame, and Gutierrez was able to bring back many members of her 1995 and 1997 state championship teams for her Murphy induction. Those who couldn’t make it wished Dyer well and remembered their days playing for her fondly.
As Dyer’s brother, Andrews High Principal Lance Bristol, read off her myriad of accomplishments Friday between the Wildcats’ varsity girls and boys basketball games, it was easy to see why Dyer made such an impact and deserved the honor. Though she was hesitant to talk about the honor itself, it was another reminder for her how things have come full circle.
“It brings backs so many memories of me playing basketball there and being part of the community,” Dyer said. “I lived when I was a kid not even a quarter-mile from the elementary school, so it’s just like being home.”