Austin Lady Eagle basketball standout Mandy (Lueking) Nowlin was among the 18 women who have been named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2021 Silver Anniversary Team, based on outstanding accomplishments as a senior basketball player 25 years ago.
Nowlin graduated from AHS in 1996 and played for Lady Eagles Coach Mike Deaton. She resides in Nashville, TN with her daughter and teaches elementary school. Her father, David Lueking, coached the boys’ varsity basketball team for a number of years.
She scored 1,006 career points at AHS despite an ACL injury that eliminated most of her senior season. She was named two-time team MVP and Mid-Southern Conference MVP.
The Silver Anniversary team includes 11 members of the 1996 Indiana All-Star squad, among them Indiana’s Miss Basketball. Seven other all-state players are included to comprise the best of Indiana’s high school class of 1996.
Indiana All-Stars on this year’s Silver Anniversary Team include Miss Basketball Lisa (Winter) Finn of Huntington North along with Mackenzie (Curless) Graft, Sarah (Hurrle) Kegerreis, Rachael (Honegger) Killinger, Jill (Morton) McFarling, Melaniece (Bardley) McKnight, Janette (Jaques) Meyer, Sarrah (Stricklett) Mosher, Nicole (McDaniel) Powell, Lauren Rice and Rachel (Garner) Young.
The remaining seven, named to various all-state teams are: Angie (Hupfer) Bossnack, Carie (Wickham) Bronnenberg, Rainey (Alting) Jones, Lindsay (Winkler) Justus, Mandy (Lueking) Nowlin, Jamie (Stewart) Russell and Jaymee Wappes.
Due to COVID-19 conditions, a date for the 2021 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Awards Banquet has not been set. The 2021 Women’s Silver Anniversary Team is expected to be honored during that event once a date is set. Information for the event will be posted on the Hall of Fame website, www.hoopshall.com.
