IMA SPORTS

Lucy Porter wrapped up one of the best careers in Maumee girls basketball history a few weeks ago, and now Porter will try to make a similar impact on a new bunch of Panthers in college.

Porter announced her verbal commitment to Ohio Dominican University over the weekend. ODU is a NCAA Division II school in Columbus.

While she admitted Baldwin-Wallace was the frontrunner for a while, she knew her decision changed once she walked onto the ODU campus.

“Usually on visits you eat lunch with the girls and when I was at ODU, I instantly made a connection with them and my cheeks hurt so bad from just laughing and smiling with them,” Porter said. “The coaches made me feel so welcome and laid out a great plan for me for the future. As soon as I left my visit, I couldn’t stop thinking about ODU and how I could see myself there academically and athletically.

“They have a great school and all of the seniors on the team have jobs before they graduate, which is great to hear. The admissions counselor also has reached out to me many times as I am still picking a major and just everyone there has been extremely helpful.”

Porter is coming off a Maumee career where she finished second all-time in scoring. Her senior season was arguably the best of her four-year varsity career, averaging 18.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 2.8 assists while being named Northern Buckeye Conference player of the year and first team All-Northwest District.

Porter was also a standout in cross country and track, advancing to two state cross country meets and setting the school’s 800-meter record, before stepping away from those sports as a junior to focus on basketball.

She has played around the country as a member of the 1Nation 17u AAU team out of Detroit.

Porter said the recruiting process was a “whirlwind and stressful but also worth it.” She had some advice for any other athlete going through the process — it does get easier. 

“It can be very mentally tiring, calling coaches and going to camps but stick with it and follow your heart,” she said. “I knew going in that it would be challenging, but I learned to not compare myself to other people in my class. That means to keep your head down and go to work no matter who has what offers or who’s going to this school. Never stop working.”

At this point, Ohio Dominican has seven incoming freshmen in the 2025 recruiting class. The ODU coaches have told Porter she’ll need to compete for her spot on the team and minutes during games, something she’s looking forward to.

“At any school, you go in as a freshman and have to climb up the roster ladder, which is no different at ODU,” she said. “I would say my biggest goals are to give myself grace as I embark on a brand new journey, work as hard as I can to be the best player I can be and continue to be a great teammate.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
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