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Former Nevada star hoopster inducted into William Jewell HOF
Hillary (Adams) Anwander is a first-ballot inductee to the William Jewell College athletics Hall of Fame.
Well-known as Hillary Adams during her Nevada High School days, she graduated in 2005, concluding her prep career as the second-leading scorer in Lady Tiger program history. Adams then accepted a scholarship from Truman State University, where things didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped, resulting in her departure after one semester. Fortunately for Adams she did not exhaust any of her playing eligibility, and after transferring to William Jewell College she took a redshirt for the second semester.
With her four years of playing eligibility fully intact, Adams became a force to be reckoned with on the hardwood from 2006-10. She concluded her career with 2,028 career points, good for No. 2 on William Jewell's all-time scoring list. Additionally, Adams is the only player in program history to be a four-time NAIA All-American. Adams was also a four-time All-Heart of America Conference First-Team selection. In addition to her scoring prowess, Adams finished seventh in program history in assists (305). Adams' other impressive collegiate statistics include 505 free throw makes on 84 percent shooting from the charity stripe; 359 3-point field goal makes; double-figure scoring totals in 108 of 134 career games; and a scoring average of 15.3 points per contest. For her junior campaign Adams led the nation in 3-point field goal makes (115) while shooting a robust 44.9 percent from beyond the arc, a number that ranked her second in NAIA-1.
Additionally, Adams was the 2010 recipient of the Vicki Larason Landman Award for William Jewell Female Athlete of the Year, and was a four-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and Heart of America Scholar-Athlete. Adams, however, said the team feats were more important to her than the individual accolades, as she was a key component in leading William Jewell to two regular-season conference titles, two conference tournament championships, and four consecutive NAIA National Tournament berths.
“Our junior year we had to win the conference tournament to get into the national tournament,” Adams recounted. “We had to win four games in a row, against really great competition — and we did that. We came together as a team.”
Adams committed to Truman State her junior year in high school, but said that William Jewell had also expressed interest. She noted that Truman State was not a good fit for her for several reasons, including proximity to family. Adams said she had a hard time at that age knowing who she was, and being confident in herself.
“I was really fortunate to be able to come to William Jewell and begin playing there,” Adams told the Daily Mail. “When I left Truman State I was unsure if I would ever get to play basketball again, because I left before I had another place to go.
“William Jewell took a chance on me. I created some of the best friends I ever had, and a work ethic that has allowed me to be successful in my career. The memories I have from William Jewell, on-and-off the basketball floor, will be stuff I never forget. I am extremely thankful for all of those opportunities. Things turned out better than I ever could have imagined.”
As far as being named a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Adams said she feels very honored and blessed. “And I appreciate everything everyone has done for me to help me get it.”
The school requires a 10-year waiting period upon graduation, to be eligible for Hall of Fame induction. Upon finding out the news, Adams said she became emotional.
“I cried, and gave my husband a hug,” she said. “Because I was so overwhelmed with appreciation and joy. I was able to just bring back all of the memories that I have, and all of my hard-work. And I felt like it was truly the final chapter of my career, to be able to get this honor and accomplishment. And, it’s something that will be there forever, and I could not be more grateful.
“My teammates through high school and college will always be part of this honor, because I would not have been able to accomplish what I did individually without really great teammates. The teammates I had, especially in college, were really supportive, and we loved each other like sisters. Those memories are really important to me.”
Adams’ father Dave, a former Nevada High principal and head boys varsity basketball coach, said he couldn’t be prouder of his daughter.
“I’m just proud of how she conducted herself,” he said, reflecting on her high school days (2001-05). “I’m proud of the fact that she’s a coach’s daughter, and I think that she played that way. She played to win the game, and the team was most important. Always in high school and college, she put the team first, above herself — and played gritty and hard. She always did her best, and cared most for the team’s success.”
Prep career
At Nevada High Adams was a four-year letter winner, and three-year team captain. She made the All-Conference team all four years and All-District three of those four years, as well as earning All-State honors and a McDonald’s All-American nomination her senior year. Adams was a two-sport athlete in high school, also competing in volleyball.
Adams finished her high school career second on the all-time scoring list with 1,640 points, first all-time in career assists (628) and single-season assists (198) and finished with 310 career steals. Adams was a 36 percent career 3-point shooter and a 76 percent free throw shooter.
Adams said one of the biggest things she learned under the tutelage of head coach Brent Bartlett was to always keep her emotions in check.
“It was one of the biggest things he taught me as a freshman,” she said.
Adams, an enshrined member of the NHS Athletic Wall of Fame, said her fondest memory was cutting down the nets after winning the district crown her sophomore year in front of the home faithful. “That was something that I will always hold dear to my heart. We hosted it, and won it that year. So getting to cut down the nets was truly special.”
Adams, who has a Bachelor’s in elementary education, as well as Masters and Specialist degrees in administration — currently teaches fourth-grade in Blue Springs.
Adams-Anwander is married to husband Brett, and they have two children — Benson, 2 — and daughter Brielle, 16 months.