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OLD GOLD FREE PRESS
Purdue Women's Basketball Recruiting

Kelly Komara

        School and Year (1997-98)       Lake Central HS, IN - Graduate
        Height and Weight               5'7 
        Position                        Point Guard 
        95-96 Ratings                   Top100 (WBCA), Top10 (USA TODAY)
        96-97 Ratings                   Top100 (WBCA), Top15 (USA TODAY)
                                        #15 (Blue Star)
        97-98 Ratings                   #5 (Blue Star)
        Academically Eligible           Yes (GPA 3.5/4.0)
        Status                          Signed
        AAU team                        Mohr Magic 17


Player Summary · Player News · Game Stats · Season Stats · Honors · IHSAA Schedule

Player Summary

Who better to judge the talent of Kelly Komara than former Purdue coach Nell Fortner..."From the first time I saw Kelly play back in the summer of '94, I knew she was special. She is a natural athlete with a love for the game and the heart to go along with it. A natural leader on the floor, a gifted jump shooter with the moves to create her own shot and she's not afraid to mix it up inside with the big people...Kelly Komara is the complete package. She's a coach's dream at the point!" Komara is actually a two sport star. She has all-state awards in softball to go along with her very long list of basketball achievements. Her 1997 softball team was ranked as high as #22 in the nation by USA TODAY. Komara also played soccer for Lake Central before giving it up to concentrate on softball and basketball. Equally talented in the classroom, Kelly is qualified and a member of the National Honor Society. National and international success has followed Kelly her whole career. Her AAU team, which also featured fellow Purdue recruit Mary Jo Noon, won the National title in 1995 and has swept the state AAU tournaments the past three summer. She was placed on the staff at the Blue Star Elite Camp during her 1997 summer after playing there as a sophomore and as a freshman (named the top one-on-one player that year). Internationally, Kelly was named to the Austrian Tour All-Tournament team in 1996 and was a member the next summer of the USA Elite team that won the "Les Cadets de L'Europe" tournament in Paris, France. Over her career at Lake Central, Kelly set single-season school records for assists (163) and steals (120), leading her team to a record of 92-10 over four years. She ended her prep career with 1,460 points and a career average of 16.6 points per game. Lake Central's 1998 team went to the state finals, ending with a record of 26-1. Komara averaged 21.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.0 assists, shooting nearly 40% from the perimeter and over 80% from the line. Komara verballed on 12/31/96, choosing Purdue over Notre Dame, Stanford, Tennessee and UCONN. Carolyn Peck on Komara: "Kelly can play the game. She can handle the ball, she can shoot the ball, she runs the floor well and she is naturally strong. Plus, she steps on the floor with confidence and the attitude that she wants, and she is going to win the game."

Current Player News

7-6-98...Mohr Magic 17-under AAU finished fourth at the AAU Nationals that ended Friday in Indianapolis. Mohr Magic rode a nine game winning streak through pool play and the tournament, only to get knocked out by the Kenner Angels of Louisianna 87-67. Kenner has won five national titles in the past six years. 7-4-98...Just when you thought Komara had won just about every Indiana award she could, the TimesOnline has named Komara as the 1998 Indiana Female Athlete of the Year for her outstanding play in three sports. 6-21-98...A scouting report on Komara from the first exhibition game against the Junior All-Star team..."Kelly Komara. VERY CEREBRAL player. Intelligent. Jumps pretty well. AVERAGE jumpshooter but can create some shots in traffic. Excellent open court defender. Will NOT beat out Purdue's current guards, but a nice pickup." (scouting report by RMKFAN) 6-20-98...The Indiana Girls All-Stars dropped a close one to the Kentucky All-Stars, 89-87. Komara led the Indiana All-Stars with 23 points, all coming in the first half. Indiana led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Kentucky came back, taking advantage of the foul trouble of Martinsville High's April Traylor and Kristin Bodine. Traylor and Bodine combined for just 46 minutes in the game. Indiana had an opportunity to win with eight seconds remaining, but North Central's Kyle Black was blocked while shooting the would-be game winner from the perimeter. Kentucky held it close using a 1-3-1 zone due to their inability to matchup with Indiana man-to-man. (stats below) 6-20-98...The TimesOnline is running a series of articles in a diary format on the Indiana All-Star team. In today's paper, Kelly Komara talks a little about the welcome the Indiana All-Stars received in Kentucky. 6-18-98...The two "Kelly's", the two former high school teammates, Kelly Komara and Kelly Kuhn, led all scorers on the Senior All-Star team with 18 a piece in a victory over the Junior All-Star team. While Komara was expected to shine, Kuhn showed she is very capable of defending the post in the absence of Purdue signee Mary Jo Noon. Next up for the All-Stars is a Saturday matchup against the Kentucky All-Star team in Frankfort, Kentucky. For more details on the game, including television coverage, follow this link to the Events page. (stats below) 6-15-98...It was to be her last shot at a state championship. So focused on getting the state title was Komara, that before the game she said she would be passing up the Indiana All-Star game next week in favor of playing in the softball state championship game. After winning a host of personal awards and honors, she was looking for a championship for her school. But that wish flew over her head in the sixth inning on Saturday as an overthrown ball from first to third scored the go-ahead run for Lafayette Jeff (29-2). Lake Central came back to tie the game, but Jeff responded with a poke single to left which scored the winning run in the ninth. The loss ended Lake Central's 27 game winning streak, along with Komara's hope for that state championship. If it is any consolation, Purdue fans will now get to see Kelly play against the Kentucky All-Star team next weekend in Frankfort, KY. The game tips-off at 4:05pm EST and will be televised in Indiana. 6-11-98...The Lake Central softball team (26-5-1), featuring Komara, is headed to semistate and will take on 5th ranked Lafayette Jeff (28-2) in Merrillville on Saturday at 1:00pm. The winner advances to face the winner of the #2 Portage (29-3) vs. Fort Wayne Northrop (28-5) game. The semistate final game is set for 8pm Saturday. Don't look for Komara to be a two sport star at Purdue...at least for four years. She will play out her basketball eligibility, then consider softball her 5th year. 4-7-98...Komara and Mary Jo Noon were both named to the 1998 Indiana Girls All-Star team this weekend. Click here for the complete roster. 3-28-98...Kelly Komara is the 1998 Indiana Miss Basketball! For details, check out these articles from the Indianapolis Star and The TimesOnline. 3-21-98...Kelly Komara continues to rake in the awards (see below). One of the latest is being named the TimesOnline Player of the Year. Follow this link to the TimesOnline for details. 3-14-98...Lake Central came 2:48 away from realizing their dream of the class 4A championship, losing to #2 Martinsville 71-65. The game was even at the half, and within two points until 2:48 remaining in the final quarter. The game saw 19 lead changes. Kelly finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. 3-7-98...Despite all the all-star invitations and the slew of awards Komara has been raking in this season and over her career, she has yet to achieve her top goal...a state championship. But with two wins on Saturday in the Kokomo semi-state, Lake Central will get a shot at the championship next week against #2 Martinsville. Another scare on Saturday as Komara again twisted her ankle, but it wasn't serious and Lake Central moves on to Indianapolis. "Nothing hurts when you're going to Market Square Arena," said Komara. 2-22-98...#1 Lake Central cruised to a 55-30 victory over Crown Point to take the Merrillville sectional title, enacting a little revenge on the same team that bounced LC from the sectional last year. Komara played with a taped ankle, and with a noticable limp. She commented during the game that the ankle loosened up through the game and allowed her to play closer to her potential. 2-21-98...It is unknown at the moment what condition Kelly will be in tonight for the sectional championship game against Crown Point. She had a severe twist of the ankle early in the the first quarter last night against Lowell which kept her out of the game until late. She finished with 2 points. Originally though to be a broken ankle, she returned to the game later taped up, but obviously struggling. The morning papers in the region indicate she could have bone chips in her ankle from the twist last night. Although the bone chips might not cause her to have to sit for the game, the accompanying swelling and pain might. 2-17-98...Even though both teams have yet to lose a game, Lake Central (20-0) jumped past Martinsville in the final Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association poll into the #1 spot among 4A teams. Lake Central holds Lake Central holds 143 votes to the 140 of #2 Martinsville (21-0). 1-23-98...Kelly's ranking has taken a nice jump in the new Blue Star Top 80. Rated at the beginning of the summer at #15, she now comes in as the nation's #5 player. 1-20-98...In the national polls, only Martinsville High gets ranked among the nation's elite teams. Lake Central, currently unranked nationally despite a 14-0 record, could now make a claim to be among that elite group of teams. On Friday, Lake Central defeated the nation's #3 team Loyola Academy (Illinois) and ended their 37 game winning streak. After LC's 6'3 center Kelly Kuhn fouled out in physical play against Loyola's two 6'2 post players and with the team's power forward out with a possible torn ACL, LC had to do it with 5 players under 5'8. LC went to a dribbling stall offense to eat some clock and keep Loyola from taking advantage of their considerable height advantage. Asked after the game if she had any comments on Komara's play, Loyola coach Tanya Johnson simply said "No". 12-12-97...According to the newly released (12/9) state scoring leaders chart from the IHSAA, Kelly is sitting in 15th place with a 6 game average of 23.3 and a game high of 28. 12-02-97...With 22 points against Merrillville, Komara surpassed the 1,000 point scoring mark for her career. 11-15-97...Lake Central was impressive with two victories as they hosted the Lake Central Tip-off Classic. Komara led all scorers in both games. First up was Washington. Komara scored 15 of her points in the first quarter alone, and 7 points in a span of 20 seconds. After hitting a three-pointer, Kelly stole the following two inbounds passes for easy lay-ups. Carmel was the late game competition. Eleven LC players scored in the game, jumping out to a 13-0 lead that would never be challenged. Komara had 7 of the team's 11 assists. 10-02-97...An article on Kelly's mother, Patti. The article also includes her recipes for lasagne and brownies, which were served to the Purdue staff during their home visit. As the Northwest Times reports, Patti Komara is much more than just a good cook. 3-14-97...Kelly Komara has been named the Northwest Times Player of the Year. Here's their article about the outstanding junior. 2-16-97...Depth helped Crown Point bounce Lake Central from sectional play. Crown Point used a 10 player rotation to wear out Lake Central, who was coming off a tiring win over Gary West Side. Komara fell into foul trouble and eventually fouled out with 1:38 remaining. Part of the strategy for Crown point was to not go for the steal against Komara, and instead make her work for her lanes to the basket. At one point, Komara missed 10 consecutive shots and her teammates were throwing up desparation threes to cut down the lead. Crown Point defeated Lake Central 48-40 after Lake central squandered a 10 point lead at the end of the third quarter. 1/18/97...Komara has been diagnosed with loose cartilage in her left knee that will have to be removed. The good news is that Dr. Don Shelbourne, a Lafayette surgeon who handles sports injuries for a host of teams not limited to Purdue, Indiana and the Indianapolis Colts, will operate this weekend. Komara should be ready for the tournament, as the surgery is only expected to sideline her for two weeks. Shelbourne normally does not schedule surgeries on Saturdays, but has made an exception for Komara. 1-17-97...Komara will have her left knee scoped today to see what was responsible for the pop she heard playing in a game against Munster on Tuesday. She has only minimal pain, but the doctors want to make sure it is nothing serious. It has been speculated to be cartilage, which often pops after ACL surgery, which Komara underwent last year. 1/15/97...The left knee that Komara had worked on last season and ended up missing 8 games, "went out" tonight in the third quarter. She is experiencing some pain, but can walk. Komara will meet with doctors this week to check out the damage. 1-1-97...Kelly Komara has veballed to Purdue University! After being recruited by 150 schools, Kelly called Coach Fortner to give her the good news. "It came down to three things," Komara said. "How great Purdue's program has been, the incoming class that will be there next year and the coaching staff that's there." Komara had a final five of Purdue, Stanford, UCONN, Tennessee and Notre Dame. Notre Dame and Purdue were favored, but the fact that she wants to coach in the future led her to pick Purdue. Notre Dame did not offer a physical education major. 12-22-96...Scoring 16 points by the halftime intermission, Kelly went on to score a game high 29 in a 56-40 victory over Crown Point. "I would hope to think of myself as a go-to person when we need baskets," Komara said. "I'd like to be able to be the person to go for them. By now I'm a junior, and I should be able to." 12-15-96...University of Arkansas women's head basketball coach Gary Blair was onhand to scout Komara in a 71-44 romp of Hobart. Blair got his first look at Komara when she was a freshman while he was up scouting EC Central's Tennille Adams, who is now a Razorback. "That's what's good about having a player like Kelly," L.C. coach Tom Megyesi said. "They bring the coaches in, and then they recognize other kids on both teams." 8-18-96...The three-sport star will concentrate on two sports from now on at Lake Central. Komara excels in basketball, softball and soccer, but soccer has been sacrificed. Her decision was based on the fact that she does not want to play soccer in college. Komara has been recognized as an all-state player in both basketball and softball.

Single Game Statistics

DATE MIN FG FGA FT FTA 3P 3PA RB AS B ST PTS ---------------------------------------------------- 06-20-98 7 16 7 10 2 3 23 Lost 87- Kentucky AS 89 06-17-98 8 17 1 2 1 5 18 Won 92- Junior AS 71 04-19-98 15 Won 86- South AS 81 04-04-98 5 7 Won 78- WBCA Red 75 03-14-98 32 7 18 7 8 0 1 6 5 1 21 Lost 65- Martinsville 71 03-07-98 5 10 13 2 3 22 Won 58- FW Snider 30 03-07-98 25 Won 72- McCutcheon 65 OT 02-28-98 21 Won 61- Gary West 48 02-21-98 4 5 8 1 1 2 2 15 Won 55- Crown Point 30 02-20-98 2 Won 51- Lowell 43 02-17-98 18 Won 58- Munster 23 01-23-98 8 24 5 8 22 Won 60- Penn 49 01-16-98 8 3 3 5 3 7 19 Won 45- #3 Loyola Acad. 43 01-09-98 7 10 11 1 2 3 25 Won 61- Highland 46 12-16-97 5 2 3 3 6 3 15 Won 63- Andrean 43 12-13-97 7 9 10 1 7 6 24 Won 57- Hobart 34 12-04-97 7 2 4 6 16 Won 48- Valpo 30 12-02-97 7 17 8 11 8 22 Won 65- Merrillville 38 11-21-97 9 9 9 3 5 27 Won 60- Chesterton 37 11-15-97 6 9 9 7 21 Won 70- Carmel 48 11-15-97 10 4 5 2 7 10 7 26 Won 83- Washington 61 02-16-97 7 21 2 3 16 Lost 40- Crown Point 48 02-07-97 4 1 1 2 11 Won 70- Gavit 23 01-15-97 15 Won 59- Munster 44 12-22-96 9 8 10 3 29 Won 56- Crown Point 40 12-15-96 7 18 10 11 1 6 6 6 25 Won 71- Hobart 44 11-23-96 7 11 13 6 6 2 4 25 Won 60- Chesterton 47

Season to Date Statistics

Season thru PPG FG% FT% 3P% RPG APG SPG BPG RECORD RANK ------------------------------------------------------------------ 97-98 season 21.6 4.3 4.0 3.1 26-1 #2(IN) 02-16-98 23.3 .470 .857 3.5 4.7 20-0 #1(IN) 02-02-98 23.2 17-0 #2(IN) 01-21-98 22.9 15-0 #2(IN) 01-14-98 23.6 12-0 #2(IN) 12-20-97 22.4 8-0 #2(IN) 12-16-97 23.4 7-0 #2(IN) 12-09-97 23.3 6-0 #2(IN) 96-97 season 20.7 .460 .779 4.4 3.5 4.6 20-2 95-96 season 12.2 .497 .705 3.0 6.8 3.3 22-3 94-95 season 11.5 .553 .671 4.1 5.8 4.3 1.1 24-4

Awards and Honors

97-98 season Preseason All-State First Team (Hoosier Basketball) Preseason All-American Second Team (Street & Smith) Nike/WBCA All-American Team selection All-American Second Team (Womens Basketball News Service) Indiana Top40 Workout Gatorade Player of the Year Boo Williams All-American Player of the Year and All-Area Team (Northwest Indiana Times) Indiana Miss Basketball Indiana All-Star Team (#1 jersey) All-State First Team (Associated Press) All-USA third team (USA TODAY) Indiana Female Athlete of the Year (TimesOnline) AAU Nationals (4th place) 96-97 season Preseason All-State First Team (Hoosier Basketball) Preseason All-American Honorable Mention (Street & Smith) Player-of-the Year and All-Area Team (Northwest Indiana Times) Player-of-the-Year and All-Area Team (Gary Post Tribune) Lake Central Team MVP All-State First Team (Indiana Coaches of Girls' Sports) All-State First Team (Louisville Courier Journal) All-State Second Team (Indianapolis Star) All-State Second Team (Associated Press) Blue Star All-American USA TODAY Junior All-American Women's Basketball News All-American Top 100 USA Elite Team selection Indiana Junior All-Star core selection All-State First Team in softball AAU National Tournament All-American Team Blue Star Elite Camp Staff member Nike All-American, WBCA and Purdue Elite Camps AAU Nationals (3rd place) 95-96 season Preseason All-State First Team (Hoosier Basketball) Preseason All-American Honorable Mention (Street & Smith) Sectional, Regional and Semi-State All-Tournament Teams All-Area First Team (Northwest Indiana Times) All-Area Team (Gary Post Tribune) All-State Honorable Mention (Associated Press) Lake Central Team MVP USA TODAY Sophomore All-American Austrian Tour All-Tournament Team AAU 15-and-under (5th place) Blue Star, WBCA and Purdue Camps Most Outstanding Guard Award at the Purdue Camp All-State Third Team in softball 94-95 season Preseason All-State Honorable mention (Hoosier Basketball) Harrison Classic All-Tournament Team Hall-of-Fame Classic All-Tournament Team Sectional, Regional and Semi-State All-Tournament Teams All-Area First Team (Northwest Indiana Times) All-Area First Team (Gary Post Tribune) All-State Honorable Mention (Associated Press) Lake Central Team Hustle Award 15-under National Champions Rick Mount Camp Free Throw and Spot Shooter Awards Blue Star Elite One-on-One Champ Doug Bruno Camp MVP All-State Third Team in softball American Softball Association Nationals 93-94 season 14-under National Tournament Top16 selection Doug Bruno Camp MVP 92-93 season American Softball Association Nationals Doug Bruno Camp MVP

1997-98 Season Schedule for Lake Central

Date Day Time Opponent ---- --- ---- -------------------- 11/15/97 SAT W Lake Central Tip-Off Classic vs Washington 11/15/97 SAT W Lake Central Tip-Off Classic vs Carmel 11/21/97 FRI W Chesterton 11/29/97 SAT W Kokomo 12/02/97 TUE W @ Merrillville 12/04/97 THR W Vaparaiso 12/13/97 SAT W @ Hobart 12/16/97 TUE W Andrean 12/20/97 SAT W @ Crown Point 12/27/97 SAT WW @ Huntington North (Huntington Tourney) 01/09/98 FRI W @ Highland 01/13/98 TUE W @ Munster 01/16/98 FRI W vs. Loyola Academy (Chicagoland Prep Classic) 01/17/98 SAT W McCutcheon 01/23/98 FRI W Penn 01/31/98 SAT W Michigan City 02/05/98 THR W EC Central 02/10/98 TUE W Lafayette Jeff 02/12/98 THR W @ Portage 02/17/98 TUE W Sectional vs. Munster (@ Merrillville) 02/20/98 FRI W Sectional vs. Lowell (@ Merrillville) 02/21/98 SAT W Sectional Final vs Crown Point 02/28/98 SAT 7:30P W Regional vs Gary West (@ Merrillville) 03/07/98 SAT 12:00P W Semi State vs #10 McCutcheon (@ Kokomo) 03/07/98 SAT 8:15P W Semi State finals vs FW Snider (@ Kokomo) 03/14/98 SAT 8:30P L State Championship vs #2 Martinsville (@ Indy) * Times not available * * To confirm game time call Lake Central HS *

As news organizations move their stories to an archive, some of the links listed above may become inactive

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