Kelly Zuercher named Inlands Div III Player of the Year
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:14 pm
CANTON — While the Pro Football Hall of Fame may have been the site, basketball was the topic. Tuesday for media members around the region. Inside the HOF’s board room, boys and girls basketball honors for the Northeast Inland District were hashed out. Waynedale senior and Bowling Green recruit Kelly Zuercher, who was honored as co-Player of the Year in Div. III, .
“I just wanted to have the best season I could, but an award like this was
definitely in the back of my mind,” said Zuercher, who shared the honor with Waterloo’s Cara Bedard.
“It was something to work toward. But for me, the team was always the focus.”
Zuercher’s coach, 16th-year Golden Bears bench boss Don McConnell, shared Coach of the Year accolades in Div. III.
“There weren’t a lot of distractions this year. It was a very positive
experience — a special group,” said McConnell, a first-time District
COY whose Waynedale team lost Wednesday in the regional semifinals
to finish 21-3. “The chemistry they had, and the mindset as ‘Five as
one’ or ‘Whatever it takes for as long as it takes,’ was just amazing.”
The 6-foot-2 Zuercher averaged 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds in leading Waynedale to its first regional appearance since 1984-85. The Golden Bears also became just the second Wayne County Athletic League school to win three consecutive outright championships. “Kelly stepped it up. She was a different player than I had seen in the past,” McConnell said. “I
was so impressed with her willingness to do whatever it took for us to win — whether it helped or hurt her credentials.”
“I just wanted to have the best season I could, but an award like this was
definitely in the back of my mind,” said Zuercher, who shared the honor with Waterloo’s Cara Bedard.
“It was something to work toward. But for me, the team was always the focus.”
Zuercher’s coach, 16th-year Golden Bears bench boss Don McConnell, shared Coach of the Year accolades in Div. III.
“There weren’t a lot of distractions this year. It was a very positive
experience — a special group,” said McConnell, a first-time District
COY whose Waynedale team lost Wednesday in the regional semifinals
to finish 21-3. “The chemistry they had, and the mindset as ‘Five as
one’ or ‘Whatever it takes for as long as it takes,’ was just amazing.”
The 6-foot-2 Zuercher averaged 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds in leading Waynedale to its first regional appearance since 1984-85. The Golden Bears also became just the second Wayne County Athletic League school to win three consecutive outright championships. “Kelly stepped it up. She was a different player than I had seen in the past,” McConnell said. “I
was so impressed with her willingness to do whatever it took for us to win — whether it helped or hurt her credentials.”
