Regis Jesuit senior-to-be Justine Hall verbally committed to Purdue University Thursday.
According to Raiders coach Carl Mattei, the 5-foot-11 guard forward made her pledge during a visit to the campus in West Lafayette, Ind.
Hall finished third in Class 5A in scoring last season with an average of 17.0 points per game and upped that to a team-best 19.2 points per contest in the playoffs, when she helped Regis Jesuit claim the 5A state championship. Hall scored 24 points in the Raiders’ 53-46 win over Continental League rival Highlands Ranch in the title game.
For good measure, Hall averaged 3.1 steals and 3.1 rebounds per game, made the All-Continental League first team for the second straight season and was selected for The Show All-Star game sponsored by the Denver Nuggets featuring the top 20 players in the state played at Pepsi Center.
“I chose Purdue because it has everything I want in a school, a great basketball team, good academics and a good atmosphere,” Hall said. “It feels like a family to me and that is what helped me make my decision.”
Hall — daughter of former NFL player Darryl Hall and Tammy Hall, who played college basketball at the University of Washington and the University of Portland in the 1980s — plans to join a Purdue team that finished 25-9 last season and ended the year ranked No. 20 in the country in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Boilermakers lost to Louisville in the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Nebraska, Oregon, Arizona State and Wake Forest also had interest in Hall.
Hall’s commitment was more good news for a Regis Jesuit team that just won the prestigious Under Armour Best of Maryland tournament, posting a 7-0 record against a field of nationally ranked teams.
The other two members of Regis Jesuit’s Big Three from last season — seniors-to-be Diani Akigbogun and Kelsi Lidge — could be making their college choices soon as well.
Akigbogun, the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year last season and MVP of the Show, has a bevy of Division I programs after her, including Michigan and Georgia, while the gritty Lidge is drawing interest from Drexel.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555. Follow @aurorasports on Twitter and find the Aurora Prep Sentinel page on facebook.
