May 8, 2006

STERLING - The residents of Suite 101 in Northeastern Junior College's GRB dorm lived together for the entire school year.

Thursday, they did one other thing together. They signed letters of intent for basketball.

Monique Ross, Chelsea Wilkins and Kelly Grosshans, three staples for the Plainswomen last season, decided to celebrate basketball, cohabitation and the future Thursday.

Ross signed her letter of intent to play at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Conn. Meanwhile, Wilkins and Grosshans decided to stay together, each signing with Western State College in Gunnison.

"Did you know we all live together?" Ross asked as she appeared in the vestibule of Jackson Edwards Arena to make it official. "You have to write about that."

While that is a nice side note to the story, the real news comes in that the signing of Wilkins, Ross and Grosshans give Plainswomen coach Wendy Hirschfeld five players from last year that have signed letters of intent with four-year schools.

Last month forward Crystal Wipf also signed with Western State and guard Trissilyn Clayton signed with the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Forward Nadege Muna is expected to make her future school known next week.

That will give the Plainswomen six four-year recruits - the most from one team in Hirschfeld's four seasons as head coach.

Wilkins had the toughest decision out of the three most recent signees. She played her entire sophomore season with a foot injury that severely limited her mobility. While Wilkins still averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 assists per game last season, the injury hurt the recruiting process to the point where she was unsure she would play organized basketball again. "I am really happy because I wasn't sure if I was going to play," Wilkins said. "But with Kelly there it will be a good comfort to have." Grosshans, a 6 foot 1 reserve forward, couldn't control her enthusiasm on signing day.

"I am really, really, really excited," she said. "Chelsea and I were roommates and now we will keep being teammates. Western is a lot like (Northeastern). I love the small community."

Ross, a guard from Sidney, Australia, averaged 6.7 points per game. She decided on Bridgeport because of its international studies program and proximity to New York City.

"I'll be able to go there to get an internship," she said. Ross' first home in the United States was Northeastern. For that reason, she said, she'll miss Sterling.

"It will be sad to leave because of the people I've met here," she said. "This was my first American experience."

Dan Nied can be reached at (970) 522-1990, ext. 232 or at dnied@journal-advocate.com