After committing prior to the basketball season, Skyline’s Shay Shippen makes it official and signs with Columbia

IDAHO FALLS – It’s officially official.

Skyline’s Shay Shippen, the top scorer in state history, signed to play basketball at Columbia University during a ceremony at the school Monday night.

Shippen, who was recently named Idaho’s Gatorade Player of the Year, earned numerous awards during her four-year career, including four first-team All-State selections and helped lead the Grizzlies to the state tournament, including a runner-up finish as a freshman.

This season she averaged 23.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

The countdown was on this year as Shippen closed in on the state scoring record. She set the record in a district tournament game against Blackfoot in February and finished her career with 2,372 points.

Shippen committed to Columbia back in September. She said she received about 30 offers from various colleges across the country. She took unofficial visits to a lot of them, but made official visits to Columbia in New York, and Pepperdine in California.

“I just knew Columbia was the one and I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time or mine,” Shippen said at the time. “It’s a little overwhelming … I felt like all this weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

Columbia reached out to Shippen during her freshman year. She visited the campus in February of last year.