“What a great day for Western Kentucky University and Lady Topper Basketball! We are all extremely excited about Crystal’s decision to attend Western Kentucky,” said Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles, who is 42-25 in two seasons at the helm of the program and is one of those former Miss Basketballs to don a WKU uniform. “Everyone in our program has worked extremely hard over the last two years to bring back what Lady Topper Basketball is all about. Having Crystal join our family helps us take huge strides in getting back to national prominence. I’m confident Crystal’s presence on our team will have a dominant effect both on and off the court.”
Kelly is no stranger to a winning tradition, having led Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy to three straight KHSAA state championships, winning all three titles at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. During her four years under coach Donna Moir, the Valkyries went 139-9 (.939), and finished 2003-04 ranked seventh in USA Today’s Super 25 poll after a 37-1 season.
The 6-foot,3-inch Kelly finished her senior season averaging 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She also recorded 106 blocks, 133 assists and 91 steals. The two-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and 2004 Associated Press Player of the Year finished her prep career with 2,377 points, 1,478 rebounds, 370 steals, 366 blocks and 349 assists. She also recorded a career 64.8 field-goal percentage. She is Sacred Heart’s all-time leader in all those categories except assists, ranking fourth.
Along with her Miss Basketball and Player-of-the-Year honors, Kelly was also named All-America by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, Street & Smith and Parade. She is also a three-time Courier-Journal first-team all-state selection and was twice named to the AP all-state first team.
“I'm very relieved to now be committed to Western Kentucky, it's such a weight off my shoulders to now be able to tell people where I'm going,” said Kelly. “I'm completely comfortable with the coaching staff and the rest of the girls at Western. It's a very family oriented program, and it's amazing that I get to be a Lady Topper.”
“The main reason I chose Western was because of the great photojournalism department,” continued Kelly. “But the basketball program is on the rise once again with some great recruits. I’m very comfortable at Western and I love the facilities. I just look forward to playing four more years there.”
Kelly joins Bridgette Brown (Columbus, Ohio / Beechcroft HS), Ashley Butler (Louisville, Ky. / St. Catharine College) and Raquel Mattis (Coral Springs, Fla. / Coral Springs HS) and as players that have signed to start their Lady Topper careers in 2004-05.
The announcement of Kelly’s signing has already brought an increased interest in the purchase of season tickets for the 2004-05 Lady Topper season.
“We’ve already seen a lot of action today by fans wanting to purchase Lady Topper season tickets for the first time,” said Western Kentucky Ticket Manager Jim Cope. “We expect that interest to increase over the next few days, and encourage fans to contact our office soon to reserve seats for next year.”
Fans that are not currently Lady Topper season ticket holders can contact the WKU ticket office (270-745-5222 or 1-800-5-BIG RED) to get on a priority seating list for the 2004-05 season, and will be contacted about seating in the fall when the schedule is set. Current season ticket holders will receive renewal forms from the ticket office in September.
The Lady Toppers return all but one player from the 2003-04 team that finished 20-14 and captured its second straight Sun Belt Conference East Division championship. After advancing to the Sun Belt Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season, Western made a run to the quarterfinals of the National Women’s Invitation Tournament for the second time in school history.
