Shoni’s sister is good, too

By Paul Sykes

They were the dynamic duo of Oregon girls high school basketball.

The flashy older sister, Shoni Schimmel, with the dazzling drives and prolific scoring. The younger Jude with the patient ball handling skills and three-point marksmanship, taking Franklin High (Portland, Ore.) to two state tournaments their final two years together. It was always Shoni’s show, but Jude played the supporting role and deadly counterpart.

Shoni continues the wizardry at Louisville now, the leading scorer in the first 14 games for Jeff Walz’ Lady Cards. Jude finds herself in her final season of high school hoops.  The target. The one the other teams concentrate on stopping. The mark.

The 5-foot-6 Jude has been faced with double and triple teams so far in Franklin’s 3-3 start to the season. She’s had games of 37 and 33 points so far and is averaging 28.3 points per game.

Jude is the headliner but she misses her sister, staying in touch with daily calls and text messages.

“I always get this question. At home, I don’t miss (Shoni). But at school and practice and games I always miss her. I miss having that one person just always there.” Jude told the Portland Tribune. She goes on to tell…”At home Shoni was the baby. She got everything. She got her own room, she got everything she wanted….that’s how I am now.”

Two years younger than Shoni (Jude skipped the 8th grade so she could play three years with her sister) Jude isn’t as flashy a player as her older sister but her quick hands give her access to multiple steals per game.  Like Shoni , she has an innate ability to read the floor and make long passes to open teammates.

Jude Schimmel hasn’t picked a college yet but Louisville and South Carolina have shown marked interest in her. Two Schimmel’s in Louisville? It just might be the best sibling combination since Scooter and Rodney McCray.

(Thanks to Jason Vondersmith of the Portland Tribune for his research.)