Gretchen Haehl has a good idea how Kylee Edwards is feeling despite having never met the Shelbyville senior.
The 2004 Shelbyville High School graduate became the Golden Bears’ career scoring leader her senior year. Fresh off a Class 3A sectional title, Haehl led the Golden Bears to a 4A sectional championship in 2004 – the last time Shelbyville won a sectional title.
“It was a lot of nerves going into a scheduled game right before the sectional,” said Haehl (photo), who was at William L. Garrett Gymnasium Tuesday night to watch Edwards attempt to break her scoring mark, of chasing the scoring record. “In the back of my mind I wanted it off my plate before going into the tournament. (Kylee) has plenty of time. She is going to crush it.”
Edwards entered Tuesday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference game with Greenfield-Central needing 22 points to surpass the record of 1,418 points.
Edwards’ first shot of the game was a 27-foot jumper that was off the mark. The senior went on to miss her first seven shots of the game, including four 3s, before sinking a pair of free throws near the midpoint of the second quarter that settled her down.
Edwards next two points came on an over-the-top pass from Ava Wilson that helped her become just the third Golden Bear to score 1,400 points in their career, joining Zach Kuhn (1,887 points) and Haehl.
With 15 points at the end of the third quarter, Edwards found the pace she needed to get the record, which has been discussed ever since she eclipsed 1,000 points in her junior season.
Edwards secured a rebound and was fouled while making a shot with 2:30 go in the fourth quarter. She completed the 3-point play to get to 1,417 points but missed on two more shot attempts late.
After the game, Haehl was able to talk with Edwards and Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler, who admitted the inevitability of the record was starting to wear on Edwards.
“It definitely is a thought process into everything. I wish she could have gotten it tonight so we could have been done with it, especially since Gretchen Haehl was here which was really cool to try and see her break it,” said Hoefler.
Edwards will break the record Saturday afternoon with her first two points against Franklin. The senior will be relieved to get the celebration over and focus her team on capturing a sectional title and continue to follow in Haehl’s footsteps.
During Haehl’s four-year career with the Golden Bears, the program won 77 games and two sectional titles. In 2003, the John Fair-led Golden Bears won 19 games and beat South Dearborn for a Class 3A sectional title. They were defeated by Mt. Vernon in the regional.
One year later, Shelbyville moved up to Class 4A and had a new head coach in Michael Gaines yet still won 18 games and defeated Bloomington North for back-to-back sectional titles. Mooresville ended Haehl’s career in the regional.
Gretchen and her twin sister, Gwen Haehl, were the building blocks for that sustained arc of success. Gretchen Haehl was named an Indiana All-Star after her senior season, which afforded her the opportunity to play the Indiana Junior All-Stars in an exhibition game held at Garrett Gymnasium in her hometown.
The Haehl sisters continued playing basketball together at DePauw University and helped the Tigers win the 2007 Division III national championship – the first national team championship for the university.
Gretchen Haehl majored in Economics and Spanish and was a Management Fellow at DePauw. She started working for Eli Lilly in Indianapolis and the pharmaceutical company helped her pursue her M.B.A. at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Haehl, who married Patrick Highlands earlier this year, is back in Indianapolis now working for Eli Lilly.
Gwen Haehl pursued her M.B.A. at Northwestern and she too works for Eli Lilly in the same building as her sister. Now married, she has a 3-year-old daughter and a newborn son.
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