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| Year Inducted: |
2008 |
| Sport(s): |
Women's Basketball |
| Years at YSU: |
1993-98 |
Shannon Beach is one of three players in women’s basketball history to earn conference Player-of-the-Year honors. Beach was a two-time All-Mid-Continent selection and named the league’s top player during the 1997-98 season.
For her career, she scored 1,148 points (12.1 average) to rank in the top 15 in school history. She played in 95 games, starting 87 contests. She overcame knee injuries her first two years to make a major contribution her final three campaigns.
Beach had 304 points as a sophomore, 383 as a junior and 373 as a senior. In her first two years she played in a total of 11 games. She made 146-of-393 3-point attempts (38.8 percent) to rank in the top five in makes, attempts and percentage. She made 375-of-892 field-goal attempts (42 percent) and made 252-of-355 free-throw attempts (71 percent). She had 749 rebounds, 168 steals and 108 assists while at YSU.
As a senior in 1997-98, she was named the Mid-Cons Player of the Year, helping the program to a 28-3 overall mark and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Beach scored 373 points, had 148 rebounds, 62 assists and 57 steals while averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
She played in 27 games, starting 26 for the year. She had 20 double-figure scoring games, including four double-doubles. She had a season-high 28 points at Northeastern Illinois. Beach was named the female YSU/Vindicator Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 1997-98.
As a junior, she scored 383 points, had 240 rebounds, 45 assists and 41 blocks en route to earning second-team all-confernece honors. She averaged 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds. For the year, she had 24 double-figure scoring games and nine double-doubles.
As a sophomore, she scored 304 points, grabbed 248 rebounds, had 48 steals and 20 assists. She had 16 double-figure scoring games, seven double-doubles and 12 double-figure rebounds contests. At the conference tournament she was named the MVP.
Her 1994-95 season was cut short because of a knee injury after three games. As true freshman in 1993-94, Beach had four double-figure scoring games and two double-doubles. For the year, she scored 78 points while grabbing 48 rebounds.
Beach graduated from YSU Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Education. She went on to earn her Master’s in Education as well from Youngstown State. Beach is working towards her doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from Kent State.
Beach is a graduate of Waterloo High School in Atwater, Ohio, where she was a standout in basketball and track and field.
She is an English teacher, department chairperson, the journalism advisor and the head girls track and field coach at Chagrin Falls High School. Beach resides in Aurora, Ohio.
