Springbrook’s Christian chooses Northeastern

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007

Springbrook’s Christian chooses Northeastern

by Dan Greenberg | Staff Writer

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Springbrook High girls basketball point guard Taryn Christian, whose fantastic all-around play has led the Blue Devils to a Division 4A East-best 17-3 record this season, has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at NCAA Division I Northeastern, in Boston.

Labeled as ‘‘the most underrated player in the county” prior to the season by Springbrook coach Oliver Riggs Jr., Christian’s stellar performances have forced opponents, and college scouts, to take notice. She ranks second on the team in points, and leads the club in steals and assists.

After her 25-point, no-turnover outing in a 56-37 victory over Blake on Feb. 9, Blake coach Patti Gilmore called her the best senior she had seen all season. She wasn’t the only one that took notice, as Northeastern coach Daynia La-Force Mann attended the game and offered Christian a scholarship days later.

‘‘The coach saw the Blake game and so I guess she was impressed, so she offered me a full scholarship on Tuesday [Feb. 13],” said Christian, a four-year starter for Springbrook who also plays AAU ball for the D.C. Heat. ‘‘I decided fairly quickly — I’d been talking to my parents about what happens if they offer, what if they don’t, blah blah blah. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing because it was getting way into [the recruiting process] and I really, really, really needed a basketball scholarship.”

Carrying a 3.0 grade-point average in her high school career, Christian has decided to major in sports medicine and athletic training. On the court, she hopes to improve a Huskies team that has begun the 2006-2007 season 4-22.

‘‘They’re getting a really good player who’s very smart basketball-wise,” said Riggs Jr. ‘‘She’s very savvy on the court. She gets assists, makes steals, she makes things happen, scores when she has to. We go as she goes.”