Hall’s Scaife picks Rutgers

Little Rock Hall senior Tyler Scaife signed a national letter of intent with Rutgers on Friday. Scaife averaged 25.1 points last season for Hall.
Little Rock Hall senior Tyler Scaife signed a national letter of intent with Rutgers on Friday. Scaife averaged 25.1 points last season for Hall.

— The year before Tyler Scaife first donned a Little Rock Hall uniform, the Lady Warriors compiled a 4-22 record.

In Scaife’s three-plus years at Hall, the Lady Warriors are 61-25. She has helped the Lady Warriors earn a conference championship, and she has led them to the state quarterfinals three times and the state semifinals once.

“Tyler has been a jewel on and off the court for girls basketball at Hall,” Lady Warriors Coach Selita Farr said. “Her attitude, her work ethic ... Tyler gets everybody involved and she drives them to be better players.”

Scaife signed a national letter of intent Friday afternoon to play at Rutgers — a national powerhouse women’s program with 23 NCAA Tournament and two Final Four appearances and a Naismith Hall of Fame Coach in Vivian Stringer.

While it’s safe to say Scaife helped turn around her high school’s basketball fortunes, she will not be under any pressure to do the same for the Scarlet Knights.

“I wanted to go to a program where I didn’t have to do it all,” said Scaife, who had narrowed her choice to Rutgers and Tennessee in the past couple of days. “I know there are great players at the college level, but I didn’t want that burden of having to do it all on my shoulders. I thought I picked a great school where they have good players in all positions and where I’m going to have to go in there every day and compete. I think they can make me the best player I can be, so that’s why I chose them.”

Scaife averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a junior, leading the Lady Warriors to a 23-6 record. Through three games this season, she has scored 73 points.

Scaife kept her college choice a secret until she signed, breaking out a red and black cap with the Rutgers’ style “R” on the front as she made her announcement.

“I really just wanted to think about it for as long as possible and make sure I was making the right decision,” Scaife said. “I broke it down to the last two schools, and I feel like I picked a great school at the end.”

Rutgers is located in Newark, N.J., and Scaife said she is ready for the change in the weather.

“I love cold weather,” Scaife said. “But I’m not sure I’ll be prepared for how cold it will be up there. I’m willing to find out.”

Scaife’s teammate, 6-4 center Kate Weber, also signed a letter of intent Friday. Weber, who averaged 6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game last season, signed with Missouri State.

Sports, Pages 30 on 11/17/2012

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