North Clarion’s Obenrader to Continue Hoops Career at Gannon

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published November 10, 2017 5:21 am
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FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. (D9Sports) — North Clarion senior basketball standout Tori Obenrader has signed to play basketball at Gannon.

(Photo: Tori Obenrader, sitting, signs her letter of intent to play basketball at Gannon. Looking on from left are her parents Terri and Rick Obenrader and North Clarion Athletic Director Bonnie Wolbert.)

Obenrader — who was the All American Awards & Engraving D9Sports.com District 9 Player of the Year in 2017 and a first-team Class 1A All-State choice — led North Clarion to a 26-3 record including KSAC and D9 1A titles and the school’s first berth in the PIAA Quarterfinals. She averaged a District 9-leading 23.5 points per game while finishing second in D9 in rebounding at 15.8 rebounds per contest and added 3.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. In 29 games, she had 28 double-doubles and recorded at least 15 rebounds 18 times including seven 20-rebounds contests. She scored over 40 points twice, including a career-high 42 while also shooting 51 percent from the field and hitting 53 3-points.

During the 2017 campaign, Obenrader set the North Clarion single-season record for points with 682 while pulling down 457 rebounds and enters her senior season with 1,436 career points and 1,137 career rebounds.

A three-sport star, Obenrader was recently named the KSAC’s Most Valuable Player in volleyball, and she was the District 9 champion in the shot put (40-feet, 4 ½ inches) during the 2017 outdoor track & field season while also finishing third in the discus (113-1) and fourth in the javelin (122-2) qualifying for the PIAA Championships in all three events. At the PIAA’s, she finished sixth in the shot put and 10th in the javelin and earned co-KSAC MVP honors in the field events that coupled with her volleyball

MVP this year and her basketball MVP award last year makes her a KSAC MVP in three different sports.

Gannon, which went an uncharacteristic 9-19 last year, is coached by Jim Brunelli, a 1996 Clarion University graduate who also served as a graduate assistant coach under legendary Golden Eagles head coach Gie Parsons. Brunelli is in his fifth season at Gannon and has led the Lady Knights to a 75-42 record in his time there including two 20-win seasons with two NCAA Tournament berths. His first Gannon team in 2014 went 28-4 and finished second in the PSAC while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Prior to coming to Gannon, Brunelli spent five years as the head coach at Anderson (S.C.) leading the school to three NCAA D-II Tournament appearances. He also was an assistant head coach at Akron (2007-08), the interim head coach at Albany for five months at the end of the 2001-02 season, and was an assistant coach at Albany from 2001 through 2006.

Gannon’s current roster has two seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, and two freshmen. The Golden Knights are picked to finish fifth in the PSAC West in the preseason poll.

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