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Geneva’s Santos committs to Marquette

With a long list of colleges offering Geneva’s Ashley Santos a chance to play basketball at their school, it wasn’t a surprise that the athletic, versatile junior guard would eventually play Division I college basketball.

Now Santos knows where.

Santos committed to play in the Big East for Marquette University. Santos made her decision Sunday, choosing the Golden Eagles over Indiana, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Pittsburgh and Penn State.

“I was sitting outside, kind of enjoying the weather, and I started thinking about colleges which have been on my mind intensely the past, oh, three months,” Santos said.

“I was really trying to narrow it down. It just came to me, ‘I think I know where I want to go.’ I knew right then I wanted to commit to Marquette.”

After making her decision, Santos and her basketball-loving family headed out to dinner to celebrate. Both her parents Joe and Lori played college basketball, and her younger sister Sydney and younger brothers K.J. and Nate all play. Sydney will be a sophomore at Geneva next year, K.J. a freshman and Nate is 9 years old.

“We just hung out and talked basketball of course,” Santos said. “It’s been really exciting in this household. I know my parents are really excited and looking forward to it.”

Santos is headed to a strong program to play for coach Terri Mitchell. Marquette went 24-9 last year and lost 79-70 to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I love the staff,” Santos said. “Playing for Coach Mitchell I know she would coach everything I stood for as a player. I knew I would give 100 percent playing for her, and Marquette is such a great school and has a lot of opportunities. They play in one of the best conferences, the Big East. After I visited there they have just been in my head and I knew if I went there I could really fit in. It was very welcoming and it stuck to me. I wanted to be a Golden Eagle.”

Santos, ranked as the No. 52 senior in the country by Blue Star and No. 86 by ESPN Hoopgurlz, had college coaches watching her play throughout her junior year at Geneva. Also a member of Puerto Rico’s National Team, Santos said playing close to home did impact her decision.

“At first when I started the process I thought I wouldn’t mind going farther away,” Santos said. “As time went on I thought to myself I would like the fact that if my family could watch a lot of my games or catch me on TV. I knew I didn’t want to go too far. The past month I started narrowing it down to be that way and knew Marquette would be a really good fit.”

Santos elevated her game statistically in her second year at Geneva. She averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting 47 percent from the field and 77 percent at the line.

Santos earned MVP honors of the Benet/Naperville North Christmas Tournament, was an Upstate Eight all-conference pick and 4th team IBCA All-State.

In a win over St. Charles North on Jan. 27, Santos scored her 1,000th career point. Marquette — along with Colorado — both had coaches at that game.

Santos started with 372 points as a freshman at Bartlett and scored 309 points as a sophomore at Geneva when she was part of a Vikings team that went 31-1.

Santos visited Marquette earlier this year and watched a game. She said she probably will play shooting guard at Marquette.

She isn’t sure yet what she will major in but is looking forward to the choices. And she’s thrilled now that her big choice is official — Marquette.

“Now I know where I’m going and the fact I’m really happy with my decision and I made the right one,” Santos said. “I know I took the time and really looked into each and every school I was considering and really educated myself in doing it. It’s a sigh of relief.”