Draughn, Karen


When Wilbur Cross High School Coach Barbara Thaxton first spotted freshman Karen "Pie" Draughn at team tryouts, she knew she had a winner. Draughn would lead Wilbur Cross to three consecutive Class L State Championships in 1977-'78, ‘78-'79, and ‘79-'80.

As Wilbur Cross' premier point guard, Pie started every game from sophomore through senior year, averaging 15 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals per game.

1979 saw Draughn named to the All-District 2nd Team, but 1980 rang all the bells. Captain of her State Championship Team her senior year, Pie won All-District 1st Team, All-State 1st Team, All-American High School, and Connecticut All-Star Honors, and was named Captain of Connecticut's Junior Olympic Team and New Haven Tap-Off Club's Girls' High School Player of the Year.

Karen Draughn is a member of the Wilbur Cross High School Hall of Fame, the New Haven Tap-Off Club Hall of Fame, and Cheyney University's Hall of Fame.

At Cheyney, where she started all four years, Pie played for famed coach Vivian Stringer, whom she names as "the greatest influence in my career." Draughn captained the team her senior year and led Cheyney to the 1982 and 1984 NCAA Final Four while averaging 8 points, 2 steals, and 5 assists per game during her career.

Of the game of basketball, Pie says: "It's the ultimate team sport. At any given moment, anyone could be that one shining star."

A computer science major in college, Draughn is now the Lead Integrations Programmer Analyst for the Yale-New Haven Health System.