Zolman Makes Hoop History
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - There aren't many things Wawasee junior Shanna Zolman hasn't done on a basketball court. Tuesday night in a 77-55 home win over Kosciusko County opponent Tippecanoe Valley, she did something no girl in Indiana high school basketball history ever has.
With 6:51 remaining in the third quarter, Zolman chased down a rebound and let fly with a three-pointer from the left corner. The ball went through without so much as touching the rim, giving the Warriors a 46-23 lead. What it gave Zolman was 2,000 career points.
The 5-foot-9 guard became the first girl in state history to eclipse the 2000-point mark prior to their senior season.
"I had no idea I was the only junior to do it," Zolman said. "It's a great accomplishment, but I'd rather win a state championship."
On a night the Class 3A No. 2 Warriors upped their record to 18-0, Zolman was the star of the center stage.
She signed autographs for Valley fans before the game. She signed autographs for Valley fans and players after the game. Wawasee fans gave her gifts and well-wishings. One Warrior fan even displayed a sign that read "Shanna For Prez."
"Scoring 2,000 points was never one of her goals," father/coach Kem Zolman said. "The only individual goals she's ever had were to be Miss Basketball and USA Today Player of the Year. She works so hard because she's worried that somewhere out there somebody is working harder."
Lost in all the hoopla was that the Warriors beat Valley by 22, a Valley team that had won seven of its last eight games.
The Vikings, who fall to 9-7 on the season, jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a three and pair of free throws from junior Tabitha Pratt, but the Warriors went on a 20-3 run and led 22-8 after one quarter of play.
Zolman finished the first quarter with eight points, while sophomore Crystal Fawley tallied six on two three-pointers.
"There's no way you can simulate that," third-year Valley coach Gary Teel said. "We don't play against Wawasee in practice. They are a very tough team to simulate."
Through the middle two quarters, the Vikings were able to play with the Warriors and were only outscored 34-32, but Wawasee's run in the first quarter as well as its 24-of-26 performance at the free throw line were too much to overcome.
"We got up 5-2 in the beginning, but then we didn't show any patience," Teel said. "I think our problems in the fourth quarter were because of fatigue."
Zolman finished the game with 38 points, 13 rebounds and six steals - an average performace by the University of Tennessee recruit's standards. Her 38 points came on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and an 18-of-18 performance at the charity stripe. For the year, Zolman is 161 of 169 (95.3 percent) at the free throw line.
Sophomores Jessica Leach and Fawley finished with 13 points each. Leach also pulled down nine rebounds. Junior Jessica Henderson added five points off the bench, while sophomore Meagan Wallen chipped in with four points and six rebounds.
"Our defensive emphasis wouldn't have changed," Teel said. "It's special for Shanna to score 2,000 points, but our defense wouldn't have changed. We wanted to limit her touches. Their outside people stepped up. Crystal Fawley and Meagan Wallen stepped up. When you try to get something, you give something away."
The Vikings cut the lead to 14, 56-42, at the start of the fourth quarter, but Wawasee went on a 14-0 run to push the score to 70-42. Wawasee hit 24 of 26 free throws for the game and 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.
Junior Tabitha Pratt led Valley with 24 points, while freshman Rebekah Parker added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"We can take a lot of positives from this game," Teel said. "Tabby stepped up and played well. Rebekah has a lot of savvy for the game. She's going to mature and be a better player."
Kathy Prater and Rachel Parker added six and five points, respectively, for the Vikings.
Zolman's 38 points moves her career total to 2,015, which is 15th all time. At her current pace of 33 points per game, she would be in the top five if the Warriors advanced to the state title game.
Seeger's Stephanie White, now White-McCarty of the Indiana Fever, is the all-time girls scoring leader with 2,869. If Wawasee were to make a state tournament run this season and Zolman scored her average each game, she would finish her junior year with 900-plus points, leaving her less than 800 short of Damon Bailey's state record of 3,134.
NO. 2 (3A) WAWASEE 77 TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55
T. Valley (9-7) 8 15 17 15 - 55
Wawasee (18-0) 22 17 17 21 - 77
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
Rosenstiel (G) 0-1 2-2 0 0 2
Wilcox (C) 0-4 1-2 7 0 1
Pratt (F) 7-19 5-6 4 0 24
Re. Parker (G) 4-15 5-8 10 2 13
Prater (F) 1-8 4-6 6 0 6
Kindig 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Doud 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Ra. Parker 1-3 3-4 1 0 5
Clauson 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 15-52 20-28 32 2 55
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
Fawley (G) 5-14 1-1 2 1 13
Wallen (F) 2-10 0-0 6 0 4
Leach (F) 4-7 5-7 9 0 13
Higginbotham (C) 1-2 0-0 6 0 2
Zolman (G) 9-12 18-18 13 6 38
Henderson 2-7 0-0 0 1 5
Bradford 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Lamb 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bender 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-53 24-26 38 8 77
Three-point goals - T. Valley 5-15 (Prattt 5-13, Re. Parker 0-2), Wawasee 5-18 (Zolman 2-3, Fawley 2-8, Henderson 1-3, Wallen 0-4). Turnovers - T. Valley 15, Wawasee 14. Fouls - T. Valley 21, Wawasee 19. Fouled out - Re. Parker, Ra. Parker, Higginbotham.
JV - WAWASEE 34
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 32 (OT)
T. Valley - Holly Green 14, Abby Shafer 4, Carli Anglin 4, Ashley Ramsey 4, Heather Ramsey 3, Sherise Denny 3
Wawasee - Annette Lamb 12, Stephanie Sorenson 10, Kelsey Bender 4, Heidi Shock 2, Mistie Hershberger 2, Jennifer Bradford 2, Jodi Beer 1, Amanda Schmucker 1 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - There aren't many things Wawasee junior Shanna Zolman hasn't done on a basketball court. Tuesday night in a 77-55 home win over Kosciusko County opponent Tippecanoe Valley, she did something no girl in Indiana high school basketball history ever has.
With 6:51 remaining in the third quarter, Zolman chased down a rebound and let fly with a three-pointer from the left corner. The ball went through without so much as touching the rim, giving the Warriors a 46-23 lead. What it gave Zolman was 2,000 career points.
The 5-foot-9 guard became the first girl in state history to eclipse the 2000-point mark prior to their senior season.
"I had no idea I was the only junior to do it," Zolman said. "It's a great accomplishment, but I'd rather win a state championship."
On a night the Class 3A No. 2 Warriors upped their record to 18-0, Zolman was the star of the center stage.
She signed autographs for Valley fans before the game. She signed autographs for Valley fans and players after the game. Wawasee fans gave her gifts and well-wishings. One Warrior fan even displayed a sign that read "Shanna For Prez."
"Scoring 2,000 points was never one of her goals," father/coach Kem Zolman said. "The only individual goals she's ever had were to be Miss Basketball and USA Today Player of the Year. She works so hard because she's worried that somewhere out there somebody is working harder."
Lost in all the hoopla was that the Warriors beat Valley by 22, a Valley team that had won seven of its last eight games.
The Vikings, who fall to 9-7 on the season, jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a three and pair of free throws from junior Tabitha Pratt, but the Warriors went on a 20-3 run and led 22-8 after one quarter of play.
Zolman finished the first quarter with eight points, while sophomore Crystal Fawley tallied six on two three-pointers.
"There's no way you can simulate that," third-year Valley coach Gary Teel said. "We don't play against Wawasee in practice. They are a very tough team to simulate."
Through the middle two quarters, the Vikings were able to play with the Warriors and were only outscored 34-32, but Wawasee's run in the first quarter as well as its 24-of-26 performance at the free throw line were too much to overcome.
"We got up 5-2 in the beginning, but then we didn't show any patience," Teel said. "I think our problems in the fourth quarter were because of fatigue."
Zolman finished the game with 38 points, 13 rebounds and six steals - an average performace by the University of Tennessee recruit's standards. Her 38 points came on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and an 18-of-18 performance at the charity stripe. For the year, Zolman is 161 of 169 (95.3 percent) at the free throw line.
Sophomores Jessica Leach and Fawley finished with 13 points each. Leach also pulled down nine rebounds. Junior Jessica Henderson added five points off the bench, while sophomore Meagan Wallen chipped in with four points and six rebounds.
"Our defensive emphasis wouldn't have changed," Teel said. "It's special for Shanna to score 2,000 points, but our defense wouldn't have changed. We wanted to limit her touches. Their outside people stepped up. Crystal Fawley and Meagan Wallen stepped up. When you try to get something, you give something away."
The Vikings cut the lead to 14, 56-42, at the start of the fourth quarter, but Wawasee went on a 14-0 run to push the score to 70-42. Wawasee hit 24 of 26 free throws for the game and 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.
Junior Tabitha Pratt led Valley with 24 points, while freshman Rebekah Parker added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"We can take a lot of positives from this game," Teel said. "Tabby stepped up and played well. Rebekah has a lot of savvy for the game. She's going to mature and be a better player."
Kathy Prater and Rachel Parker added six and five points, respectively, for the Vikings.
Zolman's 38 points moves her career total to 2,015, which is 15th all time. At her current pace of 33 points per game, she would be in the top five if the Warriors advanced to the state title game.
Seeger's Stephanie White, now White-McCarty of the Indiana Fever, is the all-time girls scoring leader with 2,869. If Wawasee were to make a state tournament run this season and Zolman scored her average each game, she would finish her junior year with 900-plus points, leaving her less than 800 short of Damon Bailey's state record of 3,134.
NO. 2 (3A) WAWASEE 77 TIPPECANOE VALLEY 55
T. Valley (9-7) 8 15 17 15 - 55
Wawasee (18-0) 22 17 17 21 - 77
T. Valley FG FT R S Pts.
Rosenstiel (G) 0-1 2-2 0 0 2
Wilcox (C) 0-4 1-2 7 0 1
Pratt (F) 7-19 5-6 4 0 24
Re. Parker (G) 4-15 5-8 10 2 13
Prater (F) 1-8 4-6 6 0 6
Kindig 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Doud 1-1 0-0 1 0 2
Ra. Parker 1-3 3-4 1 0 5
Clauson 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Totals 15-52 20-28 32 2 55
Wawasee FG FT R S Pts.
Fawley (G) 5-14 1-1 2 1 13
Wallen (F) 2-10 0-0 6 0 4
Leach (F) 4-7 5-7 9 0 13
Higginbotham (C) 1-2 0-0 6 0 2
Zolman (G) 9-12 18-18 13 6 38
Henderson 2-7 0-0 0 1 5
Bradford 1-1 0-0 2 0 2
Lamb 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bender 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 24-53 24-26 38 8 77
Three-point goals - T. Valley 5-15 (Prattt 5-13, Re. Parker 0-2), Wawasee 5-18 (Zolman 2-3, Fawley 2-8, Henderson 1-3, Wallen 0-4). Turnovers - T. Valley 15, Wawasee 14. Fouls - T. Valley 21, Wawasee 19. Fouled out - Re. Parker, Ra. Parker, Higginbotham.
JV - WAWASEE 34
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 32 (OT)
T. Valley - Holly Green 14, Abby Shafer 4, Carli Anglin 4, Ashley Ramsey 4, Heather Ramsey 3, Sherise Denny 3
Wawasee - Annette Lamb 12, Stephanie Sorenson 10, Kelsey Bender 4, Heidi Shock 2, Mistie Hershberger 2, Jennifer Bradford 2, Jodi Beer 1, Amanda Schmucker 1 [[In-content Ad]]