Hamner chooses Holy Cross

Kelly Hamner knew nothing about Holy Cross when she received a recruiting letter one day last year from the women's basketball program.

But soon after getting the letter, Hamner's father, Pete, was checking things out. He searched the Internet and talked to friends of his who lived in Massachusetts, where Holy Cross is located.

From there, things kept moving. The Osbourn Park High School junior visited the Worcester-based school in January to see a game and get a feel for the campus. Hamner came away im-pressed enough with what she saw that she recently committed to the Division-I program.

Hamner, who cannot sign her national letter of intent until next November, liked the small-school atmosphere as well as the women's basketball program itself.

"I just knew that's where I wanted to be," Hamner said. "I couldn't ask for a better academic program. They were great girls to play with."

While watching the Crusaders play earlier this year, Hamner took to Holy Cross head coach Bill Gibbons, who finished his 24th year running the program.

A six-time Patriot League coach of the year, Gibbons has led Holy Cross to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and is the school's all-time winningest basketball coach.

"He was very intense, but very positive," Hamner said. "In watching him, he would yell, but he yelled to motivate the girls."

Holy Cross' style of play also excited Hamner.

"They like to run up and down the court," Hamner said. "Everybody's moving."

A first-team all-Cedar Run District selection this season at guard, Hamner averaged a team-high 13.4 points per game in helping the Yellow Jackets go 20-5 and reach the Northwest Region Tournament quarterfinals.

Her older sister, Courtney, plays at James Madison University. Although the two play the same position and wore the same number in high school, Kelly said she never considered playing at JMU. But some similarities still exist between the two.

"We will both play for teams that have the same color uniforms—purple," Hamner said.

GREENING TO VA. WESLEYAN

Forest Park High School's Graham Greening has committed to Division III Virginia Wesleyan. The senior converted a team-high 42 3-pointers for the Bruins this season and aver-aged 8.7 points per game.

Virginia Wesleyan finished 17-13 this season after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tourna-ment.

The Marlins won the national title in 2006 and finished as the national runner-up in 2007.