Nike McClure Makes Verbal Commitment to WSU

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    The Bearcat football players weren't the only W.F. West athletes taking in the sights at Pullman this weekend.

    Nike McClure, a 6-foot-3 center, made an unofficial visit to Washington State University over the weekend and, by the end of the trip, gave a verbal commitment to join the Cougars' women's basketball team after she graduates from W.F. West High School in Chehalis.

    McClure played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Tenino, but transferred to W.F. West after the end of the 2011-12 school year. She attended an Elite Camp with her new teammates at WSU over the summer, and was impressed by the team as well as the school's communications department — in which she plans to study.

    "We've been looking at WSU since around June," she said. "We had the interest, and we finally received the offer, so we went with that school."

    There were plenty of other offers, she added, but staying in-state, as well as the appeal of the Cougars' staff, was a big factor.

    "I love the team. They're like a big family, and it was like a home away from home when I was over there," she said. "They treat each other great and have each other's backs."

    McClure scored 15 points a game for the Beavers last season, as the focal point of the team's offense and defense. She averaged 19.3 points and 13.8 rebounds a game while leading Tenino to the District IV 1A championship game, scored 22 points with 18 rebounds and four blocked shots against Cascade Christian in the regional playoffs, and scored 23 points with a whopping 26 rebounds and 18 blocked shots in a late-season win over rival Rochester.



    She was also a standout on the track, winning the 400 meters, the long jump and the triple jump at the 20-team Chehalis Activators Invite last spring.

    Natural athleticism aside, the Cougar-to-be knows there's work to be done before she's ready for Pac-12 basketball.

    "I could definitely use the refinement at this point," she said. "I'm sure with more experience I'll get to the point where I'm ready for the Pac-12, but right now I definitely have points I need to work on."

    She joins a W.F. West team that finished sixth in the State 2A Girls Basketball Tournament last season, after winning the Evergreen 2A Conference championship and taking second in the District IV tournament. She'll start alongside Jamika Parker, another 6-foot-3 center who, like McClure, was a member of The Chronicle's 2012 All-Area team.

    "Chehalis is great," she said. "It was hard to move at first. I didn't want to leave all my friends behind, but it was definitely a great choice."

    Notes: Washington State University went 13-20 last year, and 5-13 in Pac-12 competition under coach June Daughtery. … Former Elma standout Brandi Thomas, now a junior, scored 5.6 points a game for WSU last season.