Almost by accident, Naperville native Lynda (Kukla) Pinnow was offered a scholarship to play basketball at Valparaiso University.

"It was kind of a fluke how I was recruited," Pinnow said.

Then-Valpo coach Dave Wolter was targeting her older high school teammate, Amy Cole, who eventually became a Crusader. But Wolter also noticed Pinnow had some talent.

"Coach Wolter just watched tape, and it was Amy's tape but he saw me on it too," Pinnow said. "So I was recruited off her. She was the person I looked up to all the time in high school, so it was kind of neat to play with her for three years in college."

It's no accident that Pinnow, along with three others, will be inducted into the VU Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon.

Pinnow scored 1,081 points during her four seasons (1988-92), which ranks 10th on the school's all-time list. She is the career leader in 3-point field goals made (264) and attempted (755), and ranks 10th in 3-point percentage (.350).

She punctuated her career with an invitation to the first-ever women's 3-point shootout at the NCAA men's Final Four in 1992 in Minneapolis. She placed fourth in that contest.

"It was unreal," Pinnow said. "They gave me a plane ticket, took me to a hotel, shuttled us to practice and had meals prepared. We got to hang out with the men's 3-point shooters and the slam dunk guys."

Pinnow was a key player on the most successful Valpo teams prior to Keith Freeman taking over the program in 1994.

As a senior, she helped lead the high-scoring Crusaders to a 20-9 record and a second-place finish in the old North Star Conference, the women's predecessor to the Mid-Continent Conference. Wolter employed the old Paul Westhead, Loyola Marymount run-and-gun style with a goal of taking at least 100 shots every game.

It was a perfect style for a sharp-shooter like Pinnow.

"We were run and gun, and that was fun," she said. "Sometimes I thought we were a track team instead of a basketball team. It was tiring, but we all understood what we were supposed to do.

"Our goal was to score 100 points per game, so if we didn't have 50 at halftime we had to crank it up."

Now a special education teacher, Pinnow dabbled in high school coaching before her children were born. She met her husband, David, her senior year at VU.

They live in Elkhorn, Wis., with their children Gabby, 10, and Willy, 7.

Pinnow said she and some of her close-knit teammates -- including Aimee Forsman, Michelle Mader, Valerie Strong and Cheryl Wilbrandt -- try to meet at Valpo one time every year for a reunion and to watch a game.

They will all be here this weekend to witness Pinnow's moment in the sun.

"Everyone was really excited for me and wanted to share in my experience," Pinnow said. "It was a great time and I would never change anything. i had a great time at Valpo and playing ball was awesome.

"It was my dream to get a scholarship and I ended up at an awesome school academically. It was a great four years for me."

COLLEGE SPORTS

VU HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES: David Macchi (football, 2002-03); Lynda (Kukla) Pinnow (basketball, 1988-92); Amber Schober (basketball, 1998-2002); Robert Thompson (wrestling, 1971-75).

CEREMONY: 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the ballroom of the Harre Union.

RECOGNITION: All inductees will be introduced at halftime of the 1 p.m. men's game against Wright State and the 7 p.m. women's game against Butler.