Shine On

SALEM — Add another award to the pile. In what is one of the first of likely many post-season accolades this year, Salem senior Amy Scullion was named the 2009-10 Gatorade Ohio Girls Basketball Player of the Year Thursday. Scullion is the first Gatorade Ohio Girls Player of the Year to be chosen from Salem High School. “The award recognizes athletic excellence, as well as high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court,” according to the press release. “I was definitely surpised,” Scullion said. “It’s a huge honor, and I’m just proud to be a part of it.” Scullion helped lead the Lady Quakers to an 18-6 record in 2009-10. In her four-year career, Scullion amassed a total record of 69-24, winning nearly three of every four games she played. This past season she averaged 18.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. She is a three-time First-Team All-Conference selection as well as a 2010 McDonald’s All-American selection committee nominee. She is ranked No. 44 nationally by ESPN Hoopgurlz. Previous winners of the award include Scullion’s future teammate at Ohio State Jantel Lavender, ex-WNBA star Lisa Leslie and current WNBA star Candace Parker. “I have some big shoes to fill,” Scullion said. “It’s amazing to look at the people that have won this before me, and I just hope to be able to live up to those expectations.” In addition to her basketball accolades and success, Scullion is also ranked first in her class with a 4.0 GPA. She is a devoted parishioner of her church, has volunteered locally as a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of American and as a peer tutor at Salem. “The Gatorade Player of the Year Program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport,” stated to the release. “The selection process is administered by ESPN Rise and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team which works with top-sport specific experts, a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the winners in each sport.”