Fayette High School senior basketball standout Oakleigh Hill on Monday signed her commitment to play basketball at Avila University in Kansas City next year.

Last season’s All-District Player of the Year, Hill had her choice of schools, including NCAA Division I and II teams, but chose a smaller program where she could play while working toward a degree in kinesiology. Her goal is to one day become a physical therapist.

“Not many schools in Missouri have [a kinesiology program], so that made me look at them,” she said.

Had she accepted a DI offer, she likely would not have been able to play all four years with such a challenging academic major.

“I wanted DI and DII at first, but then I thought, maybe I didn’t want to play all the time,” she said. Such demanding programs are full-time jobs, and Hill said she wanted more freedom. “I just decided I wanted to play for fun and enjoy it.”

Avila’s women’s basketball team has struggled under third-year head coach Remy Wolfe, winning five games her first season and nine last year. So far this season, the Lady Eagles are 0-6. 

Hill said Avila’s coach reached out, and after a visit in June, she knew where she wanted to play next season. “I just knew right away that was where I wanted to be. They played just like I want to play, fast and quick,” she said.

Hill enters her final high school season 80 points shy of scoring 1,000 career points. She said one of her goals this season is to reach that milestone.

She averaged 18 points a game last season, sinking 70 baskets from the 3-point arc and shooting 78% from the free-throw line. She was named the Lewis & Clark Conference and Class 2 District 7 Player of the Year.

Another goal this season for Hill is repeating as district champions. Hill helped lead the Lady Falcons to a 21-9 overall record as a junior last season. It was the team’s first winning season since 2012.

“I’m very excited. We ended last year really well, and I think we can do it again,” Hill said. “At practice, we push each other every day. Sometimes, we’ll even get mad at each other because we’re going too hard. But once we get to games, I know it will pay off.”

Fayette’s new coach, Rachel Harding, hasn’t yet coached Hill in a game. She took the team to a few scrimmages over the summer and even coached against her while at Slater last season. But she knows Hill will be able to make a difference at Avila next season.

“I’ve gotten to see her throughout the summer and through the first 14 days of practice. I’m really excited for her that she gets to play at the next level,” Harding said. “She’s a very high caliber player, and she plays it a very high level anyway. I know she’s going to have some success at Avila.”

Hill and the Falcons will face tough competition right off the bat, starting at next week’s Glasgow Tournament, in which Fayette is seeded second. The girls’ bracket is loaded with eight of the area’s best teams, including Class 1 state runners-up Cairo, which has won the tournament three years running. Fayette also enters a new conference this season. The Central State 8 boasts one of the best girls’ teams in the state, Tipton. The Lady Cardinals defeated Fayette in the state sectionals last season and have made the Class 2 semifinals four out of the previous five years.

“We have some really good teams in our conference. I know it’s going to be hard, but I think we can place in the top part of our conference,” Hill said. “I think the district is very winnable again. If we just focus and play hard, I think we can do it.”

Hill and the Lady Falcons kick off the season at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday against seventh-seeded Marceline in the opening round of the Glasgow Tournament. (See this season’s team preview on page 10.)