Pittsburgh Women’s Basketball HOF: Former North Catholic, Duquesne star happy to be remembered
Starring for one athletic program puts a player in select company. Rachel Frederick Zimmerman managed to do it for three.
The native of Hampton Township scored over 1,000 career points for North Catholic girls basketball, was named all-state four times and helped the Trojanettes win WPIAL titles in 2003 and 2004.
As a Division I college player, she had a major impact at Ohio University and Duquesne, scoring 1,000 points between her time with the Bobcats and Dukes.
Now married and a mother of two living in Adams Township, Zimmerman was recognized for her efforts with induction into the Pittsburgh Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Nov. 1.
"I'm in mom-mode now, and it's good to know people still remember me as a player," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said her earliest memories of basketball are of fighting her older siblings, Adam and Jill, for the basketball in the family's driveway.
"I followed them around like a gym rat," she said. "I always seemed to be in their way, and my dad had to put up a second hoop for me."
Zimmerman joined an AAU team, Western Pa. Bruins, in the fourth grade.
"I remember hearing that we'd have the chance to play in Disney World, and I thought that would be so neat," she said. "We ended up making it, too. I had the greatest time."
Zimmerman stuck with the Bruins, and her time with the team helped her earn a scholarship to Ohio University, where she was named Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, then a captain and team MVP as a sophomore.
After two seasons with the Bobcats, she transferred to Duquesne.
"My brother was diagnosed with cancer, and I wanted to be closer to home," Zimmerman said. "I took a redshirt season. In between classes and practices, I visited Adam as much as I could. He beat it, too, so everything worked out."
And Duquesne benefited from having Zimmerman in red and blue. She started every game during her junior and senior seasons, earned all-conference academic honors and was a key contributor in the Dukes reaching the WNIT for the first time in program history.
Zimmerman appreciates the influence others had on her accomplishments.
"I was inducted (into the hall of fame), but a lot of people impacted my career," she said. "I was able to play with great players and for some great coaches, including Molly Rottmann (at North Catholic).
Rachel and her husband, Tony Zimmerman, have two sons — Anthony (9) and Wyatt (7).
