A little over four years ago Jolene Fuzesy came to Carroll College with the tag of “pure shooter.” Two weeks ago she completed her college career with a slight change to that label, “purest shooter.”

Fuzesy, who came to Helena after prepping at Havre and Malta, finished her college career with 464 made 3-point field goals on 899 attempts. That calculates to a career percentage of 51.6, which is a record in NAIA and NCAA basketball for men and women. That moves her ahead of the previous mark of 51.3 set by Scott Martin (236 of 460) of NCAA Division II Rollins College.

“I’m still kind of sad that I’m done playing, so (the record) really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Fuzesy said of her accomplishment, which she acknowledges is partly a by-product of her team’s style of play. “It’s a great honor to hear people say my name with that record. I know I’m not (former Duke sharpshooter) J. J. Redick and that there’s a big difference between the NAIA and the (NCAA) Final Four, but it’s still hard to believe.”

Fuzesy fell just short of the all-time record for made 3-pointers by a woman basketball player. Her 464 are just three off the record set by Kiely Schork of NAIA Division I Loyola University (La.) from 2003-2007. It should be noted, however, that Schork took 1,382 3-point shots (483 more than Fuzesy) in her career.

The men’s record is 516 by Jeff Clement of NCAA Division III Grinnell College. Fuzesy broke the record for treys by a Montana college player, which was 451 by Montana State-Billings star Cameron Munoz, who finished his career in 2006. Redick finished with 457.

Fuzesy was named the IR’s Female Athlete of the Year and it was at that point that she found out just how high her numbers were getting.

“I knew they were up there, but not to that extent,” she said. “Obviously there was added pressure after that, because people expect you to do well. But you don’t think about that during a game. It’s not like you’re out there figuring out how many you need to make to break the record.”

If there’s one person in Helena that is qualified to critique Fuzesy’s shooting, it’s Capital High girl’s basketball coach and former Carroll College star Bill Pilgeram, who holds numerous scoring and shooting records at Carroll.

“The main thing I noticed with Jolene is it’s obvious how many hours she’s put in,” he said. “She’s just always in the zone and knows her shot’s going to go in. It’s amazing and fun to watch.”

There were times the Carroll coaches watched in amazement as well.

“We had a practice where we just let them play, because they seemed uptight,” Carroll coach Shawn Nelson, who recruited Fuzesy, said. “It was the first time we really got to sit back and watch her shoot. I’m not sure she missed a shot, but what was really impressive was how quick her release had become.”

This past season was the best in terms of percentage for Fuzesy as she hit 55.1 percent of her treys. That number continued a trend that saw her improve her percentage every year at Carroll. Her freshman season she made 47.6 percent, and followed that with 49.2 as a sophomore, and 53.7 in her junior campaign. She led the nation in season 3-point accuracy her junior and senior seasons.

“It got to a point where every time the ball left her hand I’d just add the score in my head and a miss would take you by surprise,” said Nelson, who was a teammate of Pilgeram’s and was also an excellent 3-point shooter. “We got pretty spoiled over the course of four years.

“It was the same way with Pilgeram. You’d pass him the ball and just go to the other end of the court. If he’d miss you were like, ‘wow, he is human.’ ”

That junior season was her most prolific as she made 138 3-pointers topping the 127 she made as a sophomore and the 119 she made this season.

Fuzesy actually shot better from outside the arc than she did inside, where she made 42.2 percent. Her 90.2 percent from the foul line this season was a career best and was good for second in the nation.

This past season she had one game with eight 3s and three games with seven. She opened the season by making a remarkable 62 of 97 (63.9) treys in the first 12 games.

Carroll coach Shawn Nelson considered having her stats publicly updated on a weekly basis, but backed off after hinting about the idea to Fuzesy.

“I’m a little bit of a head case,” she laughed. “I’m pretty hard on myself and my shooting.”

Few ever noticed.

“That mental toughness and confidence is a common thing among shooters,” Pilgeram said. “You’re not born with it. You develop it with hard work and effort.”

Her work ethic has been a topic of discussion since the first day she arrived on campus at Carroll. Fuzesy would put in two to three extra hours of practice a day, waking up at 6 a.m. to get in some shooting before school started. Then she would work in more shooting between classes before getting to practice first and leaving last.

She also had to make changes to her shot over the course of her career.

“She used to use her right foot as her pivot foot and that caused her to fall away from the basket. So we got her to change to her left foot and step into the basket,” Nelson said. “That took a lot of work on her part, but it really sped up her release.”

Fuzesy says her schedule at Carroll was a drop off from high school when she’d put in an extra five hours a day.

“I always found basketball to be a way to get away and do something that I enjoy,” she said. “I get a lot of thinking done while I’m shooting.

“I also knew I wasn’t the strongest or quickest player, so I had to work on shooting to get to the next level. People always want to be the best at that one thing. If I didn’t get my shooting session in, I felt I didn’t do my best to get ready for the game.”

As for life after basketball, Fuzesy, who graduates after the next fall semester, says she’s always thought she might not be ready to be done and still doesn’t seem to know what the future will bring. She has her sights set on the real estate business, but says she just wants to see what comes to her.

“I think about maybe moving on (from basketball), but then people say I might regret it,” she said. “Right now it just seems like the right time to be done and move onto the next chapter.”

Children around Helena and the state are obviously interested in any advice about shooting a basketball Fuzesy might have.

“Being a good shot is something I had to want for myself in order to do it,” she says. “It takes a lot of practice. My parents got me interested, but I had to want to practice before school and after.”

That’s just pure and simple good advice.

Reporter Tom Stuber: 447-4070 or irsports@helenair.com