Kirscher signs to play at Eastern Washington

CHENEY — Eastern Washington University women’s basketball coach Wendy Schuller announced her first three signees of the 2017-18 signing class on Wednesday, as Sandpoint senior Grace Kirscher, Bella Cravens and Milly Knowles each signed their National Letter of Intent and will be set to join the Eagles as true freshmen next season.

“These three young women represent everything that Eagle women’s basketball is about. They are competitors, have a tremendous work ethic, and most importantly have great character and academic prowess,” said head coach Wendy Schuller. “They all come from wonderful families and I honestly can’t wait to coach them.”

Kirscher is a 6-1 combo guard and lettered in both volleyball and basketball all four years at Sandpoint. She accumulated several accolades during the 2017 season, including being named to the Idaho Statesman’s 4A All-Idaho State First Team, an improvement for being tabbed second team during the 2016 season. Kirscher was also chosen as the 4A Inland Empire League Most Valuable Player in 2017.

Following a third-place finish at the 2015 4A State Tournament her freshman season, Kirscher averaged 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists per game as a sophomore to lead her team to another third-place finish in 2016. As a junior, Kirscher averaged 16.1 points per game to go along with five boards per contest. She also tacked on 3.4 steals and assists per game and helped her team quality for the state tournament again in 2017. She was named All-State following the 2017 campaign.

“Grace’s addition to this class has really made it a great one. She can play anywhere on the floor and has really nice size for a guard. Physically, I think she will be able to step in right away and compete at the D-I level,” says Schuller. “She is a super scorer and plays extremely hard. I love her range on the perimeter but most importantly I love her competitive nature and who she is as a young lady. She comes from outstanding coaching at Sandpoint and at the club level with the Sandpiper program. Those experiences have prepared her to be a really good one at the next level.”

Kirscher was a Female Basketball Player of the Year and a Female Athlete of the Year nominee by the North Idaho Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and 2017. Off the court, she’s earned an Outstanding Individual Scholastic Award for GPA for three straight years.

Cravens is a 6-3 post player that comes to Eastern from Laie, Hawaii, and Knowles hails from Cumbria, England and is a 6-1 power forward. After winning a regional championship at the U-13 and U-15 levels, Knowles was an England National team selection at the U-15, 16 and 18 levels.