Prenger officially a Musketeer

MINSTER - For over a year, Courtney Prenger was committed to Xavier University, but she couldn't bring herself to say the magic words.

Tuesday, those words were finally uttered as the Minster senior basketball standout could say she was a Musketeer after signing her national letter of intent.

"I verbaled over a year ago, but you haven't signed anything yet so you can't say you're a Muskie," said Prenger, who will major in early childhood education. "I'm proud to say I finally signed.

"When I visited over two summers ago, I loved the campus but they didn't offer. So I patiently waited, went to camps and games. Last year at Musketeer Madness (the first practice of the season), they offered me. Less than a week (later), I verbally commited. The campus reminds me of home and the coaching staff reminds me of (the Wildcat staff)."

Xavier, under coach Brian Neal, went 10-20 and 3-15 in the Big East last season, but is 3-1 out of the gate this season going into tonight's game against Wake Forest.

It's not the first time Xavier has signed a Minster product. Finnish exchange student Reetta Piipari, a member of the 1998 state title team, was a four-year letterwinner and 1,000-point scorer for the Musketeers in the early 2000s. Other former area players who played for the Musketers include Amy (Siefring) Meyer and Jenny Rauh (Coldwater), Connie Hamberg (St. Marys) and Lynn (Bihn) Hughes (Fort Recovery)

Prenger led the Wildcats in scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) during the Wildcats' run to the program's third Division IV state championship last season.

"I played as a freshman under Nann Stechschulte," Prenger said. "That was when I realized I could go somewhere. Over the years and with the teammates I have had and the coaches I have had, I wouldn't be where I am today without them."