Hall of Fame
While playing for the Lady Vulcans, she was four-year starter, a three-time All-PSAC selection, two-time All-ECAC player and a four-time Fastbreak All-American. Her 1,618 career points still rank second on the all-time career scoring list.
Sandy Stodolsky was a cornerstone in California University of Pennsylvania’s rise in NCAA Division II women’s basketball. Her prominence and skill on the court have led to her being selected as a member of the third class of the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Stodolsky began her stellar athletic career while attending Shenango High School. During her time at Shenango, Stodolsky participated on the track team and played volleyball, basketball and softball. She lettered in all four sports for four years. She was named the “Athlete of the Year” for all sports and “Miss Basketball” for Lawrence County.
“I made first team in volleyball for all four years of high school. I played softball. I went to the state championships for track in javelin. I also high jumped, ran the 400 relay and did almost anything. I did whatever they needed me for. Basketball was my favorite sport, though,” Stodolsky said.
During her senior year in high school, Stodolsky was recruited by many different colleges and universities to play basketball. She had a crucial decision to make when she graduated from Sehango in 1986.
“Kent State looked at me. Some other universities that looked at me were Penn State, Niagara University, Slippery Rock and a couple of other local colleges. I had a bunch of Division I schools looking at me, but I didn’t want to go to a Division I school. I was 18 years old, and I didn’t want to go to a big school. I chose to come to Cal because of the size of the school and coach (Paul) Flores. He really interested me,” Stodolsky said.
Stodolsky, who played at Cal from 1986-90, was a shooting guard for the Lady Vulcans. She studied elementary education and received a scholarship to play at Cal. Stodolsky started from her freshman year until her final game as a Lady Vulcan.
“When I first got here, the team had a very bad record. They only had a couple of wins. My freshman year, we had more wins than they had the year before. After that, we started to make the playoffs,” Stodolsky said.
“I played with Tammy McIntire (who was a member of the initial class of Cal’s Athletic Hall of Fame). We had a really good team. We were very well disciplined,” she continued. With the help of Stodolsky, the Lady Vulcans improved their record over the four years from 10 wins and 16 losses during her freshman year to 18 wins and nine losses during her senior year. The best record of her four-year career came during her junior year when the team had 19 wins and eight losses, she said.
The Lady Vulcans advanced to the PSAC playoffs both of Stodolsky’s final two seasons. Knowing that she, along with the other recruits, had the ability to help turn the program around also helped Stodolsky decided that Cal was the place for her.
“One of the main reasons why I came to school here was because I knew that we could turn program around. It was really nice going to California and starting as a freshman. I did really well as a freshman. From there, it just got better,”” Stodolsky said.
Stodolsky served as the team’s co-captain over her final two years. She still ranks second in the record books in career three-point baskets with 417, and also still ranks among the top five in seven different career school records and four individual single-season school records. She finished her California career with 470 assists and 241 steals. Stodolsky says that the best aspects of California were all of the friends she made and the time she spent in Hamer Hall on the basketball court.
“I had a lot of friends while I was at California. The players on the team were really nice. The coach was really nice. He helped me a lot during my years at California. But the thing that I liked most about being at California was playing basketball. I also worked in the fitness center. I stayed here for most of the summers. I have a lot of friends that I still keep in touch with from Cal,” Stodolsky said.
Although Stodolsky went to school here for four and a half years, she never obtained her degree. She said that if she could do it over again, she would have graduated with her elementary education degree. She now works for Greekside Mushrooms in Worthington, Pa.
“I loved my job. I am a crop technician at Greekside Mushrooms. I just go through the mine and look for the diseased mushrooms. I also help grow the mushrooms,” Stodolsky said.
Even though Stodolsky didn’t know that California now has a Hall of Fame, she said that hse was excited about being inducted as a member of the third class.
She went on to say, “It means more to me because I didn’t graduate. I would have expected them to give the award to someone who graduated, but I guess the award is for basketball, not school.”
Sandy Stodolsky was a shooting guard and four-year starter for the Vulcan women's basketball team from 1986-90. Stodolsky helped Cal enjoy its first winning season and post-season appearances at the NCAA Division II level. During Stodolsky's final three seasons, the Vulcans produced overall records of 15-12, 19-8 and 18-9. Cal advanced to the PSAC playoffs during each of Stodolsky's final two seasons and competed in the ECAC tournament during her sophomore year.
She finished as Cal's all-time career-leading scorer with 1,618 total points which still ranks second. A three-time All-PSAC and two-time All-ECAC selection, Stodolsky also earned Fastbreak All-American honors four times. She still ranks second in Cal history for career three-point baskets with 147, although the three-point shot was not incorporated into women's basketball until Stodolsky's sophomore year. She also compiled 470 career assists and 241 career steals and is ranked among the top five in seven different career school records and four different individual season school records.
Stodolsky is originally from New Castle and a graduate of Shenango High School. She still resides in New Castle where she is a Crop Technician at Creekside Mushrooms in Worthington.
