GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The Green Bay women's basketball team has added Ashley Luke (Oak Creek,
Wis.) to its 2011-2012 roster after the 6'0" Wisconsin native was granted a
release from her National Letter of Intent (NLI) with University of Illinois at
Chicago.
"I watched her play a lot in AAU and knew she had really good
feet, is a great athlete and great kid with a lot of potential," said head
coach Matt Bollant. "She will fit real well in Green Bay; she's a bright kid
and is an early academic qualifier with the NCAA."
After signing her NLI with UIC during the fall of her senior
year at Oak Creek, Luke had a change of heart and signed a scholarship with
Green Bay.
"When Coach Ryckbosch was let go, UIC just didn't feel like
the right fit anymore," said Luke. "After watching Green Bay's game against
Baylor, hearing about their work ethic and seeing the video on coach Bollant's
locker room speech was really inspirational."
Averaging 14.5 points and nine rebounds per game throughout
her senior campaign at Oak Creek, Luke was an All-State Team selection by the Wisconsin
Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in addition to being named an All-State
honorable mention from the Associated
Press.
"Getting the opportunity to call Green Bay once I was
released and have an offer was awesome," Luke said with a smile on her face. "The
more I found out about Green Bay the more excited and anxious I was to come
here."
Luke has already met her new teammates and is looking forward
to joining the Phoenix with classmates Taylor Thomas (Wausau, Wis.) and Ellen
Edison (Maple Grove, Minn.) in the fall, "I'm looking forward to joining the
family I hear so much about and having my teammates push me to be all I can be
whether it's in the weight room or on the court, I know they will every day."