Before coming to Washburn, junior guard Shelbe Piggie grew up in Kansas City, Missouri attending high school at Bishop Miege. At Bishop Miege, she was a standout athlete garnering interest from NCAA Division I schools. She took a scholarship to play basketball at a school in Tennessee called Austin Peay. Piggie played there for two years where she was a solid contributor, but there was something missing at Austin Peay. What she was missing may have been someone whom she played with at Miege. This someone was her best friend and current teammate, Hunter Bentley. 

“I enjoyed playing at Bishop Miege. We went 75-0, so we won a lot of games up from my sophomore year to my senior year. I loved playing with Hunter. She’s my best friend, so we got along very well, we just play well together,” Piggie said. “I had some feeling that I would at some point in my life would probably play basketball with Hunter again. She was a big reason why I was comfortable enough to transfer here so late in the game.” 

Winning three state titles in high school is a feat very few people will ever accomplish in their life, but this is not the greatest accomplishment Piggie has had in her own eyes. Instead, she is happier with a more recent accomplishment.

“I was pretty impressed with the adjustment coming from a D1 to here. It was a big adjustment and I feel like I handled it well,” Piggie said.

During her time at Washburn, Piggie is looking to set herself up for her future, a future in which she wants to be prepared for. 

“I want to enroll in the police academy so I think that will be a challenge. Maybe at some point go back and get my masters in psychology,” Piggie said. “Psychology helps a lot with police because you have to know how to read people and talk to people. That will help a lot.”

Most people in the age of social media enjoy adding pictures to their profiles for the world to see, but Piggie wants to take it a step further when she is off the court.

“I like to longboard. I like psychology so that’s exciting and I like film, I can do some pretty cool things with a camera,” Piggie said. “I like taking pictures and editing them.”

Once Piggie’s basketball career is behind her she would like to get started on her adventurous bucket list.

“I want to go skydiving. I will probably go do that soon when I’m done playing basketball and don’t have anything to risk. I can just go do some reckless things,” Piggie said. 

Not only is Piggie a key piece to the women’s basketball team on the court, she is also just as important off the court according to head coach Ron McHenry.

“Shelbe is a fun person off and on the court. Her teammates enjoy being around her and she enjoys them. She is a person and teammate that people like to hang out with,” McHenry said. “She is a good person that thinks about others a lot. For now, though, Piggie and the Ichabods look to finish the year off strong and make a run in the MIAA conference tournament.”