Smooth-shooting McKeown will take talents to D-I UC Davis

Walla Walla Community College coach Bobbi Hazeltine loves to see her players move on to four-year programs, but not many have gotten a deal like guard Cierra Jo McKeown.

McKeown, a graduate of Touchet High School, signed a letter of intent Nov. 8 to play basketball for UC Davis during the NCAA’s early fall signing period.

“Cierra Jo is an elite shooter who can stretch defenses with her range,” Aggies coach Jennifer Gross said in a news release. “She can score from anywhere on the court, but is also a great passer with excellent vision. With two years of collegiate experience, we feel Cierra Jo will be ready to contribute right away. We are excited to get her into an Aggie jersey.”

For a small-town girl, basketball in the big city is an exciting endeavor.

“I’m excited,” said McKeown, who also had interest from several other programs, including Seattle Pacific. “I went for a visit, and if I didn’t absolutely love it there, I wouldn’t commit. I instantly fell in love with the place, and it was a full-ride offer. Mom (Melissa) cried. She doesn’t want me going that far.”

Hazeltine said McKeown is only the second player she has had in her program to sign early. The first was her current assistant coach Katie Treinen (née Isham), who played at Boise State.

“To sign in the fall to go Division I is a big deal,” Hazeltine said. “I know it is something special. I don’t know if she knows how big a deal it is.”

Gross had only seen video of McKeown, and arranged to fly to Walla Walla to watch her in person.

“Their coach called and asked if she could come up and watch her shoot,” Hazeltine said. “She watched her for about an hour and she was hooked. They did their homework. They wanted to meet her, and they really liked her. She offered her on the spot. She knew she was something special.”

And while McKeown was intrigued, she went on an official visit before signing on the dotted line.

“When coach first told me UC Davis was interested, I didn’t know where that was,” McKeown said. “I had to Google it.”

She visited the campus with her parents, Tim and Melissa, met the players and spent some time with them.

“It was really nice down there,” McKeown said.

The 5-foot-9 McKeown had quite the résumé when she graduated from high school. The smooth-shooting guard owns the Touchet scoring record with 2,356 career points, and averaged more than 22 points per game in four years of varsity ball.

She’s a two-time first-team All-State selection, and averaged 25.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 5.7 steals a game her senior year. She led the state of Washington in scoring her junior year with 26.5 points per game.

“We knew she was good, but didn’t think she would be this good,” Hazeltine said. “She has been everything we expected and more. She has had to learn to defend here, and run the floor. She knows how to take over a game. She is really comfortable right now. She has a great chance to have a great career at (UC) Davis. There’s a lot of untapped potential there.”

McKeown’s skills served her well her freshman year at WWCC, where she averaged 21 points a game while shooting 44 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the 3-point line.

She helped the Warriors to a share of the NWAC East Region title with a 14-2 record, and led WWCC to the NWAC title game, where she scored 39 points in a 76-73 losing effort in overtime to Spokane.

She was named East Region Freshman of the Year and was a first-team East Region pick.

“The thing here, is she would like to win a title,” Hazeltine said. “She has her biggest games on the biggest stage. She hates to lose.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Smooth-shooting McKeown will take talents to D-I UC Davis."