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Josh Barnett - Sports
Editor
For the past three
years South Ripley's Julie Lipperd has proved
that she was one of the best basketball players
in the conference and in the county, but next
year she is going to get the chance to try to
prove she is one of the best players in the Ohio
Valley Conference for the Division I Eastern
Illinois Panthers.
After three great years in high
school basketball and AAU Basketball, EIU head
coach Brady Sallee offered Julie a full basketball
scholarship to continue her basketball career
for Panthers. "When I first saw Julie play
I saw good size and athleticism in that size," noted
Coach Sallee, "I wanted someone who could
get out on the perimeter and play defense and
also bang down inside if need be."
After the contact of nearly 40
schools Lipperd narrowed the field down to just
four including EIU, division I Coastal Carolina
and Moorhead State and division II Quincy and
Northern Kentucky University. Visiting several
schools and talking to all the coaches Julie
selected Eastern Illinois University. "I
liked the campus a lot because it's not too big
and not too small it just seems like a good fit
for me," said Lipperd, "Coach Sallee
seems really great and they have a very good
biology department."
In high school Lipperd has accomplished
many feats on the basketball court. As a sophomore
she averaged 10.9 points per game as well as
8.7 rebounds a game. She shot 46.5% from the
field and 64.9% from the free throw line. She
was selected to the Ripley County All-County
Team, the All-Conference Team and was awarded
the team's Most Improved Player Award and the
Rebounding Award.
As a junior she helped lead her
team to a conference title, the Ripley County
Tournament Title and the Conference Tournament
Title. The team went 18-4 overall and 6-0 in
the conference that season. Julie averaged 15.2
points per game and 8.2 rebounds a game. She
set a new school record for season field goal
percentage at 59.1%. She was selected to the
All-Conference Team, the All-County Team and
the All-Sectional Team. She won the team Free
Throw Award (77%) and the Rebounding Award (181). "Julie
has been a tremendously positive leader for our
team," stated SR head coach Bill Snyder, "She
has led by example through her hard work and
dedication both on and off the court. She is
extremely coachable, she listens and constantly
strives to be better."
Lipperd is currently a semifinalists for the Wendy's High Heisman.
In her first game as a senior Julie dropped 17 points on the Jennings
County Panthers in the Raiders' 48-40 loss.
Other than basketball Lipperd participated
in volleyball and track. She was a three year
varsity starter in volleyball and was named to
the All-Conference team three years and the All-County
Team two years. She helped lead her team to a
conference title this past season. In track she
was a three year letter winner, two time regional
qualifier, two time county champion and ORVC
champ in shot put her junior season.
At Eastern Illinois Julie is going
to be expected to play some forward and some
center for the Panthers. The coaches are expecting
big things out of Julie and she will be vying
for a starting position as soon as she steps
foot on campus. Coach Sallee said, "I expect
her to step in and help our team immediately
from day one. I expect she will have a great
freshman season and an outstanding career with
us." "I hope to walk in and start as
a freshman and become a dominate player," noted
Lipperd, "Hopefully I can help lead my team
back to the NCAA tournament."
Eastern Illinois University is
a division I college with an enrollment of about
12,000 students and was voted one of the top
university in the Midwest. Lipperd plans on majoring
in biology while attending the university. She
is the daughter of Ernie and Amy Lipperd of Versailles
and Theresa Lipperd of Vevay.
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