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October 5, 2008

CARDINAL HALL OF FAME: Shalonda Ennis

When Shalonda Enis came to TVCC in 1993, she was already a recordholder. As a player at Celeste High School, located north of Greenville, she earned the title as all-time leading scorer in Texas high school girls basketball.

She came to TVCC with an average of 25.4 points, 12 rebounds and three steals per game during her freshman year, she quickly became a mainstay for the Lady Cardinals.

That year, she earned the title of Texas Eastern Conference Newcomer of the Year.

Her sophomore year was even better. An average of 30 points and 11 rebounds per game earned her the Texas Eastern Conference Most Valuable Player award.

That year, as the cardinals played for the regional title, Enis scored 46 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and 11 steals in the championship game.

Today, she still holds two TVCC records:

· Career shots made: 1993-95 (326)

· Season shots made: 1994 (194)

Enis says her memories of TVCC are some of her best.

“I remember everything. I loved my sisterhood with the basketball team, being around Coach Budke and being out on my own for the first time,” said Enis. Even more than 15 years later, she still keeps in contact with some of her old teammates.

“It was the one place that I truly wish it was a four-year college because that’s how much it truly meant to me. The sponsors we had, the support, the teachers, the fans, it was just a great place to be,” said Enis.

After leaving the Lady Cards, Enis signed with the University of Alabama. As a senior in the 1996-97 season, she was named Kodak All-American.

She was also named Women's Basketball News Service All-American that same year, and All-Conference First Team for both her junior and senior years.

While playing in the Women's U.S. Olympic Festival in 1994, Enis led the team in points (87), and averaged 21.8 per game. In the championship game Enis led the team with 19 field goal attempts. She was named MVP.

In the spring of 1997 she signed with the American Basketball League, and was drafted in the first round (seventh in the league) to the Seattle Reign.

She was named Most Valuable Player of the 1998 All-Star Game. That same season, she was named Rookie Of The Year, first-team all ABL, and Rookie of the Year by the national media.

After the ABL went bankrupt, she was drafted in the third round of the 1999 WNBA draft. Enis was chosen by the Washington Mystics. She played from 2000 to 2003 for the Charlotte Sting.

Enis now lives in North Texas.

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