The last time most people in the area saw Jaclyn Leininger on the hardwood was during the Lady Tigers' 53-38 state championship loss in 2004 to North Central.
Now, four years later, area basketball enthusiasts can see the Warsaw grad in action as a senior on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks team when they visit South Bend later this year.On Nov. 9, Miami will travel to South Bend, taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first round of the Preseason WNIT at the Joyce Center.
"When the coaches told us we'd been invited, we were really excited," Leininger said about the invitational tournament.
"We have a lot of Indiana and Ohio girls on the team," she added. "It's the closest place we've played for a lot of my family and friends to attend."
In the past, Leininger's team has played at Ball State, Valparaiso and Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis, but the trip to South Bend is by far the best chance for the 2004 Indiananapolis Star Indiana Miss Basketball to play in front of some familiar faces - faces she often sees when in town during the summer months.
"I always like talking to people," she said about regularly being recognized around town.
Along with working as a part-time tutor at Ivy Tech this summer, Leininger also spent time teaching young ladies at the Lady Lancer Basketball Camp at Grace College. But when she wasn't teaching the third to ninth grade girls fundamentals of the game, she was honing her roundball skills with the guys.
Last summer, Leininger began testing her toughness with pick-up games at Grace. From that first scrimmage to the latest, the guys have learned to treat her as one of their own.
"They have changed from last year to this year," she said of her male counterparts. "They really 'D' me up, yelling, 'Don't let her score!' They treat me like one of the guys."
Leininger is enjoying the physical play, because this season at Miami, she's making the transition from the perimeter to the post.
"Last year, I began to make the move from a three to a four," Leininger said of her change in positions for the RedHawks. "This year, I'll be a four most of the year, which is much more play down low. But I like the new challenge."
As a Warsaw senior, Leininger led the Tigers to a 26-3 record and set school records for points in a season (733) and single season 3-point accuracy (56 percent) en route to setting a new school record for career points (1,608).
During that season, she led Indiana's Class 4A in scoring with 25.3 ppg, so a change in positions may seem unnatural, but she's working to change that. During this offseason, Leininger has been working with Lakeland Christian Academy boys coach Davin Scott on her post moves, which seems to be helping.
"I'm getting much more comfortable down low," she said. "I'm beginning to learn how to read people."
That experience may help the RedHawks, who lost zero seniors from a 12-18 team a year ago.
"We are all back this year," Leininger said. "We had no seniors last year, and we have four this year. We all have a sense of urgency. We just need to start strong, and with that, we hope to make an NCAA tournament appearance."
As a senior, Leininger is aware what her role is on the team.
"I've learned and matured so much in the past three years," she said about her transformation from a freshman to a senior. "When the underclassmen arrive, they look up to me and the other seniors. I just want to be able to lead by example."
And she'll be able to begin leading in front of some old fans who make the trip north to South Bend in early November to take on the Irish.
"I played against (Notre Dame sophomore) Melissa Lechlitner in high school, so it'll be fun going against her," Leininger said. "(Notre Dame coach) Muffet McGraw always has a great team. I don't know too much about them right now, but when the season begins, we'll do some heavy scouting."
