Highland High School guard signs letter of intent to play basketball at Lincoln Land

The path to college has full clarity for Highland Lady Bulldogs senior guard Kirsten Taylor.

At home with her family, Taylor on Saturday, Jan. 23, signed her national letter of intent to attend school and play basketball next fall at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield.

The moment brought clarity and a welcome end to the long recruiting journey.

“I think my future is (clear now) and I’m headed down the right path,” Taylor said. “I feel like I’m succeeding in something.”

Taylor said the decision process things came into focus when she verbally committed to Lincoln Land on Jan. 13. In the end, Taylor’s choices were Illinois Central Community College in Peoria and Lincoln Land.

ICC had strong interest in Taylor as well but before she could visit there, Lincoln Land allowed Taylor to visit the weekend of Jan. 8. That visit gave the Loggers the inside track on Taylor’s final decision.

The recruiting process was a challenging but enjoyable one for Taylor. She said the most enjoyable part was getting to see several different schools and learning about their programs.

“Going to see different college and just comparing which ones I like the best and just meeting all the girls that go to each college (was the best part about it),” Taylor said. “They were all super nice and everything and I enjoyed meeting all the different coaches and it was nice to see their different coaching styles and everything and comparing that to their stats and how they performed last season.”

Taylor now looks forward to joining coach Chad Jones’ squad at Lincoln Land, as she will play in a system very similar to Highland’s up-tempo pressure defense-oriented style.

“I feel like I’ll mesh really well there,” Taylor said.

As the week started, Taylor had more good news, as the Lady Bulldogs were allowed to return to non-contact practice Monday, Jan. 25, due to Illinois lifting COVID-19 restrictions.

The IHSA is expected to announce a revamped schedule for all sports seasons and teams for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year after their board meeting Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Furthermore, there is renewed hope prep basketball will be played again soon.

“So, I hope we get a season and I really think we are going to get one,” Taylor said. “It’s not going to be as long as the one from last year but at this point, I just want to play high school basketball.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 9:05 AM.