Basketball fans are invited to attend Katie Douglas Night when her famed PMHS No. 23 basketball jersey will be retired. The ceremony will take place at 7:15 p.m., following the Southport-Perry Meridian girls’ varsity basketball game and before the boys’ game in a Battle of Perry Township double-header.
Douglas, a left-handed, long-range shooting guard, graduated from PMHS in 1997, but her influence on the game is still respected on campus, across Perry Township, throughout Indiana, collegiate basketball nationally and as an all-star with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and Indiana Pacers.
In 1997, Douglas capped her high school career as runner-up for Indiana Miss Basketball and an Indiana All-Star team selection.
At Purdue University, she played on the 1999 NCAA championship team, became a two-time All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, and led the Boilermakers to the 2001 National Championship. Those achievements earned her an induction into the Purdue Hall of Fame.
In 2001, Douglas moved from the Hoosier State to the Sunshine State when she was selected 10th in the WNBA draft by the Orlando Miracle, which moved to Connecticut and was renamed the Sun. The Sun traded Douglas to her hometown team –the Indiana Fever.
During her WNBA career, Douglas reached four WNBA finals, finally winning the 2012 title with the Fever. In 2015, she retired after 14 seasons in the league. During her professional career, Douglas earned the distinction of becoming the first player in WNBA history to record dual milestones of 500 three-pointers and 500 steals.
Douglas remains a fixture in the community. In 2017, she opened two Orangetheory Fitness franchises. One is located downtown; the other is in Greenwood at 1675 W. Smith Valley Road. She even makes time to visit and encourage students at Glenns Valley Elementary, where she was once a student.
The Southport-Perry Meridian girls’ game starts at 6 p.m.
Join together to cheer each team’s current student-athletes and to honor one of our own, Katie Douglas.