SCRANTON, Pa. — Back in June Cecelia Collins a Scranton Prep senior guard accepted the Division I scholarship to play women's college basketball at Bucknell University for head coach Trevor Woodruff.
"I mean I have dreamed about this all my life, and the fact that it actually came true, and I worked this hard to get here. I mean it is definitely relieving, but to get that weight off your shoulders it's a great feeling," said Cecelia.
Coming off an undefeated junior year where the Classics went (27-0) and won a District II title Collins averaged 14.2 PPG and hit 32 (3's) becoming a leader alongside teammate Rachael Rose.
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"I think that we all kind of have a chip on our shoulder now because we weren't able to finish last season, and we all just want to go out and do as best as we can and finish it off on a high note," again said Cecelia.
In the fall Cecelia will play her last season of girl's soccer for Prep as the goalkeeper. The use of her hands and the technique in that sport she feels helps her in basketball.
"It definitely helps. I mean just with my hand and eye coordination I am the varsity goalie so my hand and eye coordination is better, and lateral movement improves, and also being able to play a different sport and sometimes get my mind off basketball a little bit helps. But it is also fun to play with your cousins and friends in a different kind of schemes of things," again said Cecelia.
Growing nearly four inches between her sophomore and junior year at Prep Collins used that height advantage inside the paint to score. Now she is working on ball handling skills and her strength to be ready for Patriot League action in the fall of 2021.
"Definitely I have been working on getting stronger and finishing near the rim, and obviously there are bigger players in college and they are just quicker. So I have been able to get in the gym and get stronger and get quicker. The college game is a lot faster, so I just have to get a lot faster," said Cecelia.
Another 27 wins would give her 100 for her career at Scranton Prep. She is 178 points shy of 1,000, and 21 shy of 100 (3's) in her career.
Steve Lloyd Newswatch 16 sports Lackawanna County.