A comfortable family atmosphere coupled with the opportunity to contribute immediately proved to be too much for Oxford High’s Erika and Amber Sisk to pass up.
The talented sisters, who helped lead the Lady Chargers to a spot in the Class 5A North Half tournament last season, both committed to play for Murray State in the coming seasons.
The verbal commitments are non binding, but Erika, who is entering her senior season with Oxford, will make it official on Nov. 10, the first day players can sign with college teams. Amber, who is entering her junior season, will have to wait to make her commitment official until Nov. 2012.
For Erika, Murray State head coach Rob Cross and his assistants made the thought of attending the Kentucky-based school become a reality because of the way she and her sister were courted throughout the recruiting process.
“I chose Murray State because they have been so loyal to me. They have followed me everywhere I went in the summer, to every state I’ve been in. In some cases they were there before me. I know that in my mind, they’re going to be there for me. I was the only point guard they got for this class, me and a post player, were the only players they want to sign for 2012 so you know they’re serious,” said Erika, who chose the Lady Racers over Austin Peay, UAB and Florida A&M. “Even though SEC schools were recruiting me, they never backed down. They were still there. I feel like it doesn’t matter how big the school is, it’s how big you play. I feel like I can be a big fish in a small pond doing great things. I wanted to go to a school where I can get a ring and win a championship.”
The opportunity to play with her sister also sweetened the deal for Erika, who averaged 22.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists last season en route to being named the EAGLE All-Area Player of the Year in 2011.
“When they offered my sister, I said they were really serious. There aren’t too many schools that do that,” Erika said. “One of the things that stuck out to me was they were all about family. They said God, family, academics and then basketball. They said basketball should be your last worry, that it should be God and family that comes first.”
Erika said she decided to commit during the summer in order to save a spot in case she got hurt as well as to focus on leading the Lady Chargers to the MHSAA state tournament.
“I gave them a verbal commitment in case I get hurt my senior year, I will still have a full scholarship at the end of the day. I didn’t want to wait too late. My mother and my father have been supporting me and they felt good about Murray State,” Erika said.
Amber, who averaged 6.0 points per game last season, said she was excited about playing with her sister in college.
“I think it’s a blessing for me to play with my sister because she’s been with my whole high school career and now she will be there when I get to college. She’s going to push me to go harder when I’m playing basketball,” Amber said. “It’s a very Christian-like school. I decided to commit because you can’t beat two full scholarships and playing with your sister. We’re going to be at the same dorm when she is a sophomore. I love playing with my sister.”
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