Shanice Vaughan never lost faith. The Bishop Ford guard saw most of her college interest dry up late in the summer, but felt she had played well enough with her Exodus travel team that something good was going to eventually happen for her.
“I just had to wait patiently,” the senior said.
That finally paid off. Vaughan was contacted by the University of Texas-El Paso in late September or early October and they expressed interest in her playing for them after watching her over the summer. Their interest and the fact they saw her as a combo guard sat well with Vaughan and she signed a National Letter of Intent with the Conference USA school Tuesday.
“It definitely caught her off guard,” Bishop Ford coach Mike Toro said. “Like two months ago she was kind of nervous and worried about where she is going to end up. Next thing you know a few weeks later you know exactly where you are going to end up in the future. The hard work paid off.”
Vaughan doesn’t know what she plans on studying in school yet, but knew she wanted to get away from New York City. Toro describes her has someone who always enjoyed traveling with the Falcons and on the AAU circuit.
“I wanted to see the world.” Vaughan said.
The Miners finished 16-14 overall last season and 7-9 in Conference USA under 11th-year head coach Keitha Adams. In Vaughan they get a sure-handed guard who can score in a variety of ways. Her strength allows her to fearlessly attack the rim and she can get hot from the outside. Add to that her ability to rebound against bigger players and her relentlessness on defense and you have a player Toro feels can eventually be a star in Conference USA.
Vaughan had 30 points in a late season win over Bishop Loughlin and collected 17 and 10 to help lead Ford to an overtime win against Archbishop Molloy in a CHSAA Class AA state play-in game.
“When she really puts her mind to it she can score with the best of them,” Toro said. “At the end of the day when you really need someone who can handle the ball and can control the team she certainly can do that. That’s a role she is going to be playing with us this season.”
Vaughan is looking forward to finally getting to visit the campus and is happy to have her school before the regular season gets started. She and the Falcons have their eye on again being one of the city’s top squads.
“It helped me out a lot,” Vaughan sad. “Now I can just worry about my season and relax knowing where I’m going when I finish high school.”
