PORT ANGELES — Jessica Madison, the latest superstar of the Port Angeles High School girls basketball program, will be signing a letter-of-intent to play for a stellar Division II college team this morning.
Madison is scheduled to sign the letter in the Student Center at 8 a.m. for a full-scholarship ride at University of Alaska Anchorage, which has an 108-20 record during coach Tim Moser’s four-year career and has two NCAA Division II second-round tournament appearances.
Alaska Anchorage is where her brother, Jon, played college ball.
Madison, who is expected to break the school all-time scoring record for all players this year, has fallen in love with the college and the state of Alaska.
“No. 1, I like the coaching staff,” she said. “Coach Moser is a really good coach, and I think I will fit really well under their system.”
A shooting machine
Madison, at 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds, is a shooting machine who will play 2 guard, the shooting guard, for the Seawolves.
Alaska Anchorage, which had a 24-5 record last year, has been ranked No. 9 in the country in a preseason poll.
Recruited by both Division I and II schools, Madison said she will have to get stronger to compete at the next level.
“I know to play at the next level I have to get stronger, lift weights and perfect my game more,” she said.
“It’s a whole new thing.”
Port Angeles girls basketball coach Mike Knowles said that Madison could play at any level.
“Jessica is a kid who could play at Division I at the right school,” Knowles said.
“If she became a little stronger, physically, she has the tools and ability to play at any level.”
Madison has received offers from several Division I and II schools but she said she settled on Alaska Anchorage because of the full-ride scholarship offer for four years plus a fifth year for a Masters degree if she maintains a 3.0 GPA or above, because of its coaching staff and because she likes the state and has family living there.
Knowles said she has received offers from Seattle University, Portland State, Cleveland State, St. Martin’s, Western Washington and Western Oregon.
Madison said she is attracted to Alaska because it reminds her a lot of Port Angeles, only colder.
Plus she has family there with Jon living close by. Jon Madison fishes in Alaska.
She said she’s signing early so she won’t have to worry about it while she’s playing this season.
Madison joins a long line of star girls basketball players at Port Angeles who have moved on to college.
Knowles says he has coached about 14 who have moved on.
“I have been fortunate to coach some great athletes,” he said.
No one at Port Angeles, though, can touch Jessica Madison’s scoring ability. Not even her brothers, James and Jon, who were Nos. 1 and 2 on the school’s all-time scoring list until their little sister came along.
She passed Jon’s scoring mark last year as a junior when she sank 513 points during the season.
Jessica now is a little less than 400 points (1,702-1,306) from James, who played college ball at Cleveland State, a Division I school.
“If she stays healthy, she will have no problem breaking that record,” Knowles said.
Madison has her eye on the scoring prize.
“I really want to break that record,” she said.
She’ll get that chance soon as practice for the winter season starts next week.
