Senior Spotlight: Haley Wollerman

Discouraged after being hit with a ticky-tack foul, a stoic Haley Wollerman sat with her head down on the Vandalia bench.

The senior guard wasn’t used to going to the bench with four fouls – especially not in the third quarter – but she knew exactly how her role needed to change at that point.

Moments later, Wollerman became like a player-coach to her teammates, calling out to them if she saw a screen coming or if someone needed to move elsewhere on the court.

“She’s a team player, and that’s all she could do at that point; be a leader from the bench,” said girls basketball coach Michelle McNary. “It was frustrating for her, but I was proud of her for hanging in there.”

Added Wollerman, “It’s not going to help any if I am on the sidelines pouting. My team looks to me as a leader, and it’s not going to help them to look over and see me crying and pouting.”

That was back on Jan. 10, when the Lady Vandals fell to Greenville, 52-48, and while that evening could have been a night to celebrate her scoring her 1,000th career point, Wollerman had to wait.

Then, she was expected to reach the milestone during the Highland Tournament, but she was unable to secure the mark against Vandalia’s two tough opponents – Mater Dei and Belleville West.

But, that did allow her to achieve the milestone on her home court on Monday, when she hit a layup in the third quarter of a 57-35 loss to Litchfield.

“It’s going to relieve a lot of pressure that I’ve been putting on myself,” Wollerman said. “It’ll make games go smoother now.”

After leading the Lady Vandals in scoring last season, the shifty guard has faced intense defensive pressure throughout this season, which has dropped her season scoring average about 2.5 points per game.

Not that 13 per game is a bad rate.

And Wollerman doesn’t even mind, as she understands that if she can assist a teammate on a shot, that will eventually come back to her.

“That’s the way I was brought up, and I don’t want people to look at me and think I’m selfish,” she said. “You can’t win with just one person – it takes five people on the court to win a game.”

Also one of the school’s top volleyball players in the fall, Wollerman said she may be given the chance to play both sports in college, but that she likely would just play basketball.

She has received offers from Millikin University, Greenville College and Monmouth College, but she will not be making her decision until after the high school season has ended.

McNary said that wherever Wollerman, who will major in elementary education, decides to go, she will make a difference.

“When she is shooting right, she’s as good as any 3-point shooter that I’ve seen play,” McNary said. “If nothing else, maybe she’ll be a 3-point shooter off the screens for some team.

“She’s definitely going to help somebody out.”

Vandalia senior Haley Wollerman is seen above shooting the shot that resulted in her 1,000th career point during Monday’s game against Litchfield.

Vandalia senior Haley Wollerman fights for a layup against Litchfield.