The players who comprised the starting backcourt for the 1997 Indiana All-Star girls basketball team have more in common than hyphenated surnames.
This is apparent as Lisa Shepherd-Stidham and Katie Douglas-Poe, friends since being brought together as AAU teammates as high school sophomores, talk shop inside the office of the Greenwood business owned by the latter.
Two of the premier women’s basketball players in the Big Ten Conference from 1997-2001, each presently enjoys a career that has kept them close to athletics and physical conditioning.
A former Richmond High School sharpshooter voted Indiana’s Miss Basketball as a senior, Shepherd-Stidham helps run S&S Elite Sports, a Whiteland-based facility where softball, baseball and basketball players are trained.
Douglas-Poe, the former Perry Meridian standout — who was runner-up to Shepherd in the Miss Basketball voting two decades ago — owns Orangetheory, a fitness studio in Greenwood which opened in April.
“Since I have been an athlete for most of my life, it seemed fitting and natural for me to be a business owner in the fitness industry,” said Douglas-Poe, a two-time All-American at Purdue who played 14 seasons in the WNBA.
“I knew when I was a professional athlete that I loved learning about the fitness side of basketball and how to transform your body. That eagerness to learn and implement certain fitness routines propelled me into the career path.”
Shepherd-Stidham runs the Dream Makers basketball program, tailoring individual workout sessions for players from fifth grade through college.
Lisa’s husband is 1991 Greenwood Community High School graduate Aaron Stidham, a former Woodmen football standout. They, along with Stidham’s brother Shane, operate S&S Elite Sports.
“We are fortunate to go to work and truly love what we do,” said Shepherd-Stidham, who scored 2,140 career points at Richmond and 1,663 at Penn State University. “Athletics is something that we are both extremely passionate about.
“Sports has brought a lot of opportunities and experiences to our lives, and our careers allow us to impact others.”
Douglas-Poe, a five-time WNBA All-Star, retired from the league in May 2015 having scored 5,560 total points. Douglas-Poe also enjoyed an outstanding basketball career abroad, playing for franchises in Spain, Russia, Turkey, Greece and Lithuania.
Friends for more than half their lives, Shepherd-Stidham and Douglas-Poe began to reconnect after the latter retired.
Their friendship wasn’t immediate.
“When I first came to Shep’s AAU team (Kokomo-based Mohr Magic), I was a little intimidated. She was pretty shy,” Douglas-Poe said. “Our connection wasn’t immediate, but we had a mutual friend on the team who is a social butterfly.
“Once we got to know each other, (Shepherd-Stidham) is a Chatty Cathy. Don’t let her fool you. We actually went out to dinner after the (Indiana) All-Star game with our husbands and had some good laughs.”
Neither is surprised by the other’s post-hoops career choice.
“With basketball you meet people, and it’s interesting to see different paths the sport can take you down,” Shepherd-Stidham said. “You kind of come back to give back to the community and do what you’re passionate about.”
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LISA SHEPHERD-STIDHAM
Age: 38
Born: Richmond
Family: Husband, Aaron; daughter, Kayla, 9; son Braeden, 6
High school: Richmond (1997)
College: Penn State (2001)
Major: Therapeutic recreation
KATIE DOUGLAS-POE
Age: 38
Born: Indianapolis
Family: Husband, Fred
High school: Perry Meridian (1997)
College: Purdue (2001)
Major: Communications
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