June 1, 2004

Campbell transfers from Syracuse to Cowley

Marchele Campbell, a big-time scorer at Kansas City’s F.L. Schlagle High School, has decided to transfer after her first year at Syracuse University to play basketball at Cowley County Community College.

Campbell, a 5-4 guard, averaged 26.2 points, nine assists, and five steals per game throughout her high school career. She was named the Kansas City Kansan Player of the Year in 2002, and was selected first-team all-state by The Wichita Eagle and Topeka Capital-Journal as a senior.

For her career at Schlagle, Campbell scored 2,094 points and shot 53.6 percent from three-point range. She had single-game highs of nine three-pointers and 42 points.

“Marchele is a big-time player,” Cowley head coach Stephanie Smith said. “She is a great scorer who can shoot the three and penetrate. She has a natural feel for the game, and handles herself with maturity.”

Campbell is friends with former Tiger Ebony Haliburton, who averaged 10.4 points and 10.2 rebounds this past season at Cowley after transferring from the University of Kansas. Haliburton did not see much playing time as a freshman at KU, but flourished as a member of the Lady Tigers, and will be playing for Oral Roberts University next season.

Campbell also suffered through a lack of playing time at Syracuse, and is hoping to display her talent at Cowley. With the loss of sophomore guard Ariana Scales, and her 20 points-per-game average, Smith is looking forward to having Campbell on the squad.

“Her biggest assets are her friendly and outgoing personality off the floor, and her hard-nosed competitive personality on the floor,” Smith said.

Campbell’s brother, Malcolm, recently graduated from Alabama State, where he scored 26 points against Duke University in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Lady Tigers finished last season with a record of 23-9.