Shanna Zolman honored at North Webster Community Center.

Text and Photos
By Mark Knecht and Mary Hursh
Chautauqua-Wawasee

Shanna Zolman Mahaley

SYRACUSE — This won’t surprise anyone who frequents the North Webster Community Center, but above lockers A161 to A173 on the east hallway’s west wall is a tribute to 2002’s Indiana Miss Basketball. There are four framed pictures. Her name is written in script on the wall along with “2002 Indiana’s Miss Basketball.”

Shanna Zolman later said, “’Miss Basketball’ was the one award I set a goal to achieve because there is no greater accomplishment in my mind for a kid growing up in Indiana than winning that title.”

Now, 23 years later, Zolman is returning home to Syracuse on May 7 for a Chautauqua-Wawasee program to talk about her basketball career and her faith. The tribute on NWCC’s wall continues to highlight the joy and fame she brought to the region.

Shanna Zolman Mahaley, her husband and two children now live in the Seattle, Wash., area. Zolman’s basketball career ended due to three knee and shoulder injuries after six years of professional basketball with the WNBA. Now she spends her time speaking to groups about the dozen leadership principles taught by University of Tennessee’s legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt.

“Coach reminded me of my dad on a much larger scale,” said Zolman. “Pat’s influence on me far supersedes the basketball court. Her dozen leadership principles and the way she lived out her life were no nonsense yet real. She was the most disciplined perfectionist. The way she handled hardships in work, life and marriage helped me through the toughest years of my life.”

Throughout her life and her basketball career, God has been a major influence. Zolman believes that “All glory belongs to God. He has given me everything. Faith is the common thread that runs through family, athletics and faith for me. That is where I start from. That is what motivates me and enables me to love and forgive, to endure and work harder than I thought I could.”

Zolman will be speaking in the Wawasee High School auditorium starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 7. The event is free to attend. This is one of 20 events Chautauqua-Wawasee has planned for 2024. See its website for more details.

A tribute to Shanna Zolman at North Webster Community Center.