By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — The long wait is over for Williamston’s star guard Katie Paschal as she has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball for East Carolina University.
Paschal verbally committed to ECU over a year ago, but made it official when she signed on the dotted line this week.
Paschal, the reigning two-time Washington Daily News Basketball player of the year, said she can’t wait to bring her game to Greenville.
“I’m really excited about it; I’ve always known I wanted to go to ECU,” Paschal said. “To finalize it feels great.”
The versatile 5-7 shooting guard had plenty of schools to choose from and, before she verbally committed, had narrowed her list to Memphis, Wake Forest and East Carolina, but said once she gave her word, she never wavered.
“No, I never had any second thoughts; I always knew I wanted to go there,” Paschal said. “That’s why I committed so early.”
Paschal led the state in scoring last season with a 31 points per game average, and also tallied five rebounds, six steals and four assists a night.
Paschal’s father, Roanoke football coach Brian Paschal, and his wife, Serena, backed their daughter’s choice citing the proximity and quality of East Carolina.
“We’re thrilled with it. We think it’s a great fit for her, it’s a great conference (Conference USA) and a great coaching staff,” Brian said. “I think (the location) is real important to us because we want to be a part of our kids’ lives, and we want to be able to support them in everything they do. This gives us the opportunity to do that.”
The coaching staff, led by seven-year coach Sharon Baldwin-Tenor, was a big reason why Paschal was so motivated to sign with the Pirates.
“I like her a lot and that’s a big reason why I chose ECU,” Paschal said. “I think she is a really good coach and I like that she plays an up-tempo style.”
Paschal said she was enamored with the location of East Carolina as well, citing that the 40-minute drive from home is the perfect distance to get the “away from home feeling” but also adds the comfort of being only a short car ride away.
“It’s a good distance. A lot of people from home said they want to come and see me play and I would love to have people from my high school come and watch me play. That would be really fun,” Paschal said.
Paschal thanked her parents for everything they have done for her and said they are welcome anytime, as long as it’s not all the time.
“It’s good that they can come by, as long as they keep some distance,” Paschal joked.
The star guard said that two people who have a 24-hour open invite are her hair dresser, Samantha Jones, who does her patented braids, as well as her “Number one fan, Meredith Robertson.”