Allie Shenloogian
Sport: Basketball
School: Park Ridge
Class: Sophomore. Age: 15
Accomplishment: Shenloogian averaged over 27 points a game, including a season-high 34 points
against West Caldwell Tech, leading the Owls to the North 1, Group 1 sectional final.
North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week always keeps shooting for success
Darren CooperAbout the only defender to stop Park Ridge sophomore Allie Shenloogian this season is her young puppy, Bella.
“She is crazy, she jumps on everybody, she ate my jersey, she ate my water bottle,” Shenloogian said. “If you leave it out, she’ll eat it.”
On the court, Shenloogian has also been taking what she wants, leading the Owls to the North 1, Group 1 sectional final. She was the only returning starter to the Owls line-up from last year, placing her in the unusual position as a sophomore leader.
“It’s motivating to say the least,” Shenloogian said. “I know that my team relies on me a lot and I have to do what’s best for my team.”
Shenloogian − everyone calls her “Shen” − is the oldest of three kids. Her mother was a college soccer player at Quinnipiac and soccer was the first spot she tried, but then she got hooked on basketball, and later softball.
“My favorite part about playing basketball is probably the people around me pushing me to give my best,” Shenloogian said. “I feel like in softball, you fail more than you succeed, so I like being able to overcome the adversity that comes with playing.”
At Park Ridge, she’s played all three sports, playing on the back row or up at forward for the Owls soccer team. On the softball team, she is an outfielder, but in basketball, she’s the focal point.
Shenloogian scored 30 or more points four times for the Owls this season. She likes to think she’s a bit of a throwback as a player, she likes the elbow jumper and playing defense. She credits her trainer Meg Thomas at Downtown Sports and Owls coach Ryan Dennis for helping her refine her game.
“I have learned to always give my best effort and even if things aren’t going the way you want to persevere through the challenges basketball gives you,” Shenloogian said.
That toughness was never more evident this year than the Owls’ Bergen Invitational Tournament game against Becton. Park Ridge was out of sync in the first half and trailed by double digits at halftime.
“The locker room was silent and everyone started getting on each other,” Shenloogian remembered. “It really pushed us and we ended up winning by eight. We really turned it up in the second half. It was probably the most exciting game I played in.”
Shenloogian leaves out the part where she scored 29 points in the comeback.
The 5-foot-6 shooting guard is hoping to top 1,000 points in her career and help the Owls push forward. She hasn’t found a way to stop Bella from chewing on her stuff, but she’s not backing down from any challenges.
“The best advice I got is never stop shooting,” Shenloogian said. “You can have a bad game, but one shot can make a difference and how well you perform individually is different than the team, so always keep trying your hardest.”
