Audubon’s Dona Fenske, Jessica Nikkel of Lynnville-Sully and Kelsey Bolte of Battle Creek-Ida Grove were inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Basketball Hall of Fame at the Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament. The awards ceremony took place last Friday.
Fenske graduated from Audubon in 1969 and was a star from the six-on-six era. The 5-9 Fenske played in the guard court as a freshman before moving to the forward court her sophomore season. She scored 3,089 career points, leading the Wheelers to the State Tournament in 1969.
In a 1969 sectional final game, she poured in a regional record 88 points in a 121-106 victory over Irwin. Fenske averaged 33.2 points as a sophomore, 45.3 ppg. as a junior and 52.9 points as a senior.
Fenske went to play basketball at Midwestern College, earning outstanding freshman honors and was later an all-American at Parsons College in Fairfield after Midwestern closed following her freshman season.
Nikkel was a key component of the Lynnville-Sully teams that won 79-straight games and three consecutive Class 1A state titles in 1997, 98 and 99.
The six-foot, four-inch Nikkel was a three-time first team all-state selection. She averaged a double-double for her high school career and was Iowa’s five player career leader in blocked shots. She was a three-time all-Tournament team selection at the State Tournament and was captain of the 1997 and 99 all-Tournament teams.
Jessica took her talents to Grand View College and enjoyed similar success, earning first team all-Midwest Collegiate Conference honors as a junior and senior with honorable mention all-American recognition. She finished her Grand View career as the Vikings’ career leader in blocks, second in rebounds, third in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage.
Bolte was a two-time first team all-state selection from Battle Creek-Ida Grove, graduating in 2007. She led the Falcons to two state championship games and was a member of the all-tournament team both times. She finished her high school career with 2,026 points, 1,016 rebounds, 516 steals, 448 assists and 327 blocks. She is the only player in state history with more than 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 steals. She named Miss Iowa Basketball in 2007.
Bolte went on to Iowa State and and helped Iowa State to four NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a unanimous first-team all-Big 12 selection as a senior and finished her career as the Cyclones’ career leader in free throw percentage (.879), third in 3-pointers (276) and sixth in scoring (1,639).
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