A starting guard on one of the top ranked high school teams in the country, Janelle Fassbender is an inspiration in the classroom, too.

Just about any basketball coach would be proud to have a player such as Janelle Fassbender on the team. A 5'9" senior shooting guard for the perennial state power Pickerington (Ohio) Lady Tigers, Fassbender excels both on and off the court.

Known as a three-point threat, a great ball handler and defensive player, Fassbender has been a major factor in the Lady Tigers' success for the past three years. "She's the type of kid who gives 100 percent on the floor," says Dave Butcher, Head Coach at Pickerington. "She's an effective leader by example. Maybe not a rah-rah kid, but one who goes out and dives for balls. She's very unassuming, never questions her teammates, and never loses her poise or control. You win championships with players like her."

Averaging 11 points per game last season, Fassbender helped Pickerington get back to the state finals, even though many of the players from the school's two consecutive state championship teams had graduated. And while the Lady Tigers came up short in the state final, 36-25, to Mason High School, their 25-3 record for the season is a testament to their success.

Fassbender also gives 100 percent in the classroom. An excellent student, she has earned an NCAA Division I scholarship to Davidson College in North Carolina, where she plans to study pre-med. "She's a girl who's using athletics to fulfill her academic dreams," says Butcher. "She puts academics ahead of athletics, but is smart enough to understand that athletics can be a tool to pursue what she wants to do academically. Basketball will be paying for her college, and she's very focused on where she wants to go."

For the past two years, Fassbender has spent half of her high school day taking college classes. "She's a very modest girl, but very determined on what she wants to accomplish," Butcher says. "She's very mature for a high school kid, and not one who's affected by a lot of peer pressure or tries to impress people. She has her goals and dreams set, and is working to accomplish them."

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