(Courtesy: Con Marshall)
No doubt about it: Unless she breaks a leg in warmups, Chadron State senior Kalli Feddersen will break a school record this weekend when the Eagles host the Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines basketball teams in the Chicoine Center.
The hard-driving point guard needs to sink just four free throws to surpass all-time great Lorna Dahlgren’s CSC record for most free shots made in a season. The Hay Springs native made 191 in 1994-95.
Through the Eagles’ first 26 games this season, Feddersen has meshed 188 of 230 free throws to lead the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference by a wide margin. She’s taken 113 more shots at the line and made 90 more than her nearest rival in the conference. That is last year’s Player of the Year, Molly Rohrer of Colorado State-Pueblo.
Rohrer has been to the charity stripe 117 times and made 98 this winter. Yes, Rohrer’s 83.8 shooting percentage from the line is a trifle higher, but no one will quibble about Kalli’s 81.7.
Although her field goal shooting hasn’t been as accurate this season as it was year ago, Feddersen has to be regarded as one of the Eagles’ most intense, hard-working, all-around players. Her 15.2 scoring average ranks third in the RMAC, her 4.1 assists per game is fourth and her 7.3 rebounding average is eighth this season.
In addition, she has more assists than turnovers and undoubtedly is among the RMAC leaders in charges taken. She’s frequently knocked flat by an opponent trying to duplicate her ability to get to the basket.
Ever since Feddersen, who has an Alliance heritage, arrived on campus since transferring from Western Nebraska Community College two years ago, one of the Eagles’ best offensive maneuvers has been Kalli driving to the basket, drawing a foul and going to the line.
Last year, she was 134 of 167 at the charity line for 80.2 percent. Both the shots made and taken were second in the conference and fifth on CSC’s all-time lists. This year, she’s at the top of both lists—or soon will be the Eagles’ leader.
Feddersen, who was an all-stater in both volleyball and basketball at Rawlins High in Wyoming averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 rebounds a year ago to rank among the top 10 in the conference in all three categories, just like this year.
Going into this weekend’s final games, Feddersen’s 81.1 cumulative free throw percentage ranks second on CSC’s career chart behind only Mary Perrin’s 82.6 (284-344) in the late 1980s.
Kalli is one of three CSC seniors who will be wrapping up their hoops careers this weekend. The others are Kendra Baucom and Letty Rodriguez.
The Feddersen name was familiar to Eagles’ fans before Kalli transferred. Both of Kalli’s parents are CSC graduates.
Her mother, the former Shelley Stahl of Cody, Wyo., earned three volleyball letters at the college and her father, Alliance native J.J. Feddersen, was the CSC’s basketball team’s starting point guard four years in the early 1990s. He scored 1,242 points and is in the Eagles’ Hall of Fame.
He also knew how to draw fouls and turn them into points. As a senior in 1993-94, J.J ranked second among the male players in the RMAC at the foul line, going 91-117 for 77.8 percent. His coach, Bob Wood, described him as “a point guard they had to guard because he could score.”
The same can be said of his daughter. And, trying to guard her hasn’t worked too well for many of her defenders.