COLLEGE BOUND

PRESENTED BY: DDS Larry Leemaster

BY:Josh Helmer

Moore girls basketball commitments add excitement to upcoming season

Aspring of college commitments highlights the excitement for Moore girls basketball entering next season. Three seniors-to-be accepted full-ride scholarships.

Raychael Harjo announced her commitment to Central Florida on April 21, Aaliyah Moore followed on April 25 with her commitment to Texas and Peyton Andrews committed to Oklahoma Christian on June 2.

Harjo, a 6-foot-2 forward, averaged 12 points per game this past season. After sending out her highlight tape to a number of colleges, it was UCF that caught her eye. It was clear to her that the Golden Knights’ coaching staff had made her commitment a priority during their April Zoom call.

“I started narrowing it down, asking where I would see myself for the next four years,” Harjo said. “Then, we had the call and it was great. They were so nice, so enthusiastic.”

Harjo said she was excited when UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson officially offered.

“I just felt it in my heart right there that UCF was the school for me, because they have everything on my checklist,” she shared. “They have what I want to study… nice weather near the beach. I felt it in my heart that UCF was the perfect school. We had already done so much research on the school. I love the energy. So, I told my mom, ‘I can’t wait. I want to commit now.’”

Moore, a 6-foot-3 forward, averaged 21.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as a junior. That earned her the Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Basketball Player of the Year award. Rated as the No. 7 recruit in ESPN’s HoopGurlz Class of 2021 rankings, Moore chose Texas over offers from UCLA, Florida State, Notre Dame, Syracuse and South Carolina.

The close proximity to family in Oklahoma and the opportunity to pursue a sportscasting career with the Longhorn Network were selling points that pushed Texas over the top.

“It just felt like home,” Moore said.

“They have all types of opportunities for me. Academics was a big thing and my family being close. I love the coaches. They’re great leaders that can help me reach my goals.”

“I also love the players that are there. Each one of them are like my sisters,” she added. “I think we can do so many great things together.”

The Longhorns are getting a five-star talent that continues to expand her game. Moore shot 36 percent from three-point range this past season on more than 80 attempts.

“One thing that I would describe myself as is very versatile,” Moore said. “I’ve worked on that since my freshman year. My ball handling has improved, my three-point shot, my midrange. I still have so much more growth and that’s what makes me so excited for the future.”

Aaliyah Moore

Andrews, a 5-foot-10 point and shooting guard, averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 assists per game last season. She also led the Lions in minutes played per game (28.0), three-point shooting percentage and assists-to-turnover ratio (2.80).

In seven career playoff games, Andrews is 16-of-33 (48%) on three-point attempts.

Peyton Andrews

Interestingly enough, Andrews’ first exposure to college basketball was at Oklahoma Christian when her dad sent her there for a kid’s basketball camp.

“I know Oklahoma Christian is a really good school,” Andrews said. “I want to be an orthopedic surgeon and one of my dad’s really good friends went to Oklahoma Christian and she’s an orthopedic surgeon. As soon as they reached out to me and offered me a full-ride, I just knew that’s where I wanted to go… they made it feel like home automatically.”

This trio of seniors has already made history with the Lions. They recorded the program’s first winning season since 2003 as freshmen, won 19 games as sophomores and helped lead Moore to a 21-5 record and its first state tournament appearance in 22 years this past season.

“They’re the center of our program, especially for the next ten months,” Moore head girls basketball coach Brent Hodges said. “They’ve been such a vital piece to our success.”

“One of the best parts that people don’t get to see from the outside perspective, they’re great teammates,” he added. “They genuinely care and love their teammates and they like each other.”

Hodges earned The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Coach of the Year honor after the Lions’ run to the state tournament this past spring. However, Moore’s season ended prematurely before they could play Sapulpa in the state tournament, as coronavirus concerns ended the high school basketball season.

The Lions were finishing up their pregame shootaround at a Tulsa high school and were set to board the bus for the Mabee Center when they found out the state tournament had been postponed.

They packed their bags and boarded the bus to head back home instead.

“I feel the positive that came out of that is knowing that we can actually get there if we work together,” Andrews said. “Going into next year, we’re coming in more prepared, knowing what it takes to get there and just making sure we get where we can bring the Gold Ball home this time.”

“It feels like we lost, but we didn’t even play a game,” Harjo said. “It was tough. We had all worked so hard to get there. It was all super crazy, painful really to have (the tournament) canceled like that.”

Not all was lost however. The team was able to learn what they are capable of accomplishing.

Raychael Harjo

With this talented trio of seniors, a little more history just might be in the cards.

“The sky’s the limit for us next season,” Hodges said.-19SM