Female Athlete of the Week: Olivia Shutter (Week Ending January 21, 2024)

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Olivia Shutter

On Thursday, January 18th, Northern Lebanon trailed Cocalico in the 1st half but used a solid second half to pick up a key road win. A large part of the effort that night was the play of Olivia Shutter, as she scored each of her 14 points in the 2nd half. Two days later, the junior scored 18 points as the Lady Vikings picked up another road win when they visited Brandywine Heights. In those two games, Shutter showed off her ability to knock shots down from the perimeter by hitting six three-points. For her efforts, Shutter was selected by the LebCoSports.com voters as the LebCo Female Athlete of the Week.

Northern Lebanon earned two more wins this past week, defeating ELCO and Hamburg. Shutter added another four three-points in the victories while averaging 17 points.

This offensive production is not a surprise to those who have been watching Shutter play. Throughout the season, she has worked with teammates Kasey Weimer, Hayley Sheroky, and Saoirse Phillips to create a balanced, potent scoring attack for the Vikings. She has also flashed the ability to take games over with her solid shooting, especially after halftime if the team struggles to find a spark.

The offensive piece to Shutter’s game has developed over time, something she thanks Coach Ken Battistelli for helping her evolve. Coach Battistelli said of his top scorer’s performance, “Olivia’s role on our team has been to constantly apply pressure to the opposing defense by being aggressive with the ball. She is asked to score on all three levels and has embraced that role despite not having an aggressive personality. Additionally, she is expected to maintain the defensive mindset vital to our team’s success.”

Coach went on to talk about how this has spread out the floor to create opportunities, “Recently, Olivia has begun to become a facilitator on offense, using her penetration ability and amount of attention she receives from opposing defenses to create scoring chances for her peers.”

Creating opportunities for her teammates is something Shutter takes pride in. This fits into her role as a team leader, being the oldest player on the roster. The team chemistry created at Northern Lebanon with a very young lineup is not by accident. Still, it has involved the unselfishness of players like Shutter, who see her leadership role as “doing anything to help the team.

While it is easy to point to the offensive numbers, that is not the phase of her game in which she takes the most pride. In talking to her, she is much more willing to point out how she helped the team with her defensive effort.

Currently sitting in the #3 position in the 4A District 3 Power Rankings, Shutter has high hopes about the team’s ability to put together a successful postseason run. Speaking as a leader who understands the team dynamic, she said, “I feel that each one of us has a role on this team, and if we all do our part, we will be nearly unstoppable.”

Outside of Basketball, Shutter is also a member of the Northern Lebanon Soccer and Softball teams. While thinking about college, she is considering continuing her athletic career after graduating in 2025. However, she is more certain about her interest in going into the medical field. Her willingness to help others drives her future career goal, especially her joy in working with older people.

However, before Shutter can even think about moving into another sport, let alone moving on from high school, she will remain hyper-focused, helping to lead her Basketball team into the postseason.

Good luck to Olivia and her teammates as they finish the regular season and begin pushing through the postseason.

Write-ups for the LebCo Male Athletes of the Week – Tanner Feagley & Dallas George will appear shortly

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting: January 15 – January 21

Previous Winner Updates

Kenzie Eckhart (Week of 12/4) – Averaged 8 points in two games last week. 

Laci Lesher (Week of 12/4) – Scored 21 in two games last week, including hitting three three-pointers as Crest attempted a comeback after going down early to Lebanon.

Morgan Kline (Week of 12/11) – Rolled a 719 series as the Raiders edged out Manheim Central in a 4-3 win.

Mya Doster (Week of 12/11) – Averaged 5 points in two games last week, providing key defense in rebounding as Palmyra came from behind to defeat Milton Hershey.

Kailah Correa (Holiday Weeks) – Scored 42 and 27 in two games last week, both ending in victories for the Cedars.

Kylee Trostle (Holiday Weeks) – Earned a silver medal at 112-pounds in the first official LL Girls Wrestling Championship.

Olive Brandt (Week of 1/8) – Scored 17 points over the course of two games, providing another scoring option in two Cedar victories. 

Kasey Weimer (Week of 1/8) – Averaged 13 points in two Northern Lebanon victories.

Qynne Demler (Week of 1/15) – Set a New Covenant scoring record when she registered 42 on Friday night. She also had games of 35 and 22 as the Flames went 2-1.