By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — Katie Paschal has always made good decisions on the court, and on Monday the star guard made another one as she stood in the Williamston gym and announced that she has verbally committed to play basketball at East Carolina University.
The Tigers’ star guard drew interest from several Div. I one schools, and at the end she narrowed it down to ECU, Wake Forest, Memphis, Mississippi State and Princeton.
The junior had originally planned to make her choice after the end of the 2008-09 prep season, but after being wooed by Pirates head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener and the allure of playing close to home, the Tigers’ star was sold on the purple and gold.
Paschal said that her exposure to Pirates’ culture helped her decide to set sail for Greenville.
Paschal said she was excited about the prospect of playing for Baldwin-Tener.
Aside from her fondness for coach Baldwin-Tener and ECU’s proximity to home, Paschal also said that the opportunity to get playing time as a freshman was a powerful lure.
East Carolina’ star guards Lacoya Terry and Jasmine Young are both in their senior seasons, which means ECU will not be as senior-heavy at the perimeter when Paschal attends in 2010-11 season.
Paschal has been playing varsity ball since she was a freshman. In her first year, she helped the Tigers to an 18-7 record while averaging 26.6 points, four assists and four steals a game.
The Wiliamston guard followed up on her rookie season with a stellar sophomore campaign where she guided Williamston a 27-1 record and tallied 25 points per contest along with five assists and four steals. That effort led Paschal to be named the Washington Daily News Female Basketball Player of the year, and all-state by NCpreps.com twice.
This year the sharpshooter has Williamston off to a 6-1 start, while averaging 34 points a night.
Paschal has also put up impressive numbers in the classroom, as she has a GPA of 4.37, and ranks second out of a class of 137.
Tigers’ coach Jimmy Elks said he was happy to see his young star commit to East Carolina.
Elks said that he loved her decision to go to ECU, because it means he can get a closer look at her college hoops’ career.
During her time at Williamston, Paschal has shuffled between point guard and shooting guard, but said that in college she will play shooting guard, which is where she prefers to be.
Paschal said one of the things she will work on the most before heading to Minges Coliseum is her defense.
The Pirates are two season’s removed from an NCAA tournament appearance and Paschal said she wants nothing more than to bring them back,