When she first started to play basketball as a youth, Benjamin Logan’s Savannah Pavoni made the goal of earning the opportunity to play at the college level. She can now cross that off her list.
Pavoni on Monday announced her decision to play at Olivet College during a ceremony at the school. Olivet is located in Olivet, Mich. and plays at the NCAA Division III level.
“I went to a camp there and loved how their coaching staff handled themselves,” said Pavoni on her decision to attend Olivet. “When I took a visit later on, I loved the family atmosphere there. I just fell in love with everything.”
A four-year varsity standout for the Raiders, Pavoni scored over 1,000 points during her career.
“For Savannah to be able to go on and play in college, it’s a positive thing for our whole program,” said Ben Logan head coach Andy Schwochow. “There have been several girls in the past that have played in college, so to continue to send kids to the next level is great motivation for our younger players. They can see that if they put in the work, they may also have this kind of opportunity.”
Pavoni said she also considered offers from Otterbein, Tiffin, Baldwin-Wallace and Mt. St. Joseph.
“It’s a big relief to have this process over,” said Pavoni. “It got a little stressful during the season, so it’s nice to now know where I will be going to college. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of me.”
Pavoni was extremely consistent with her scoring during her Ben Logan career. She averaged 9.5 points per game as a freshman, 12.3 as a sophomore, 11.5 as a junior and 10 this season as a senior.
She was a three-time first-team all-Central Buckeye Conference selection and earned second-team honors as a freshman.
“Savannah meant so much to our team with all the basketball she has played,” said Schwochow. “She was a calming presence for some of the younger girls. She never got rattled. She also did a great job with her leadership during the summer, helping kids get to practice, helping to arrange workouts and just being someone her teammates could rely on.”
Savoni hopes to make an early impact at Olivet, which struggled to a 4-21 mark this winter.
“They had a tough season, so I want to go in there and help them as much as I can,” she said. “My personal goals will stay the same. I want to win a league championship, win a national championship, make all-league and lead the team in as many categories as I can.”