NU women's basketball lands highly rated guard

Inesha Hale, a 5-9 point guard from Raytown, Mo., has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Northwestern next season, NU head women's basketball coach Joe McKeown announced Monday.

She'll join two early period signees, Inga Orekhova and Dannielle Diamant, at Northwestern.

"Inesha is an outstanding guard and we're extremely excited," McKeown said. "What makes her special on the court is her ability to play multiple positions. Her quickness and athleticism will help us reach a high-tempo style of play that I think is critical to the success of our program."

Hale was ranked No. 14 at the point guard position by Scouts Inc., and was tabbed No. 87 nationally overall by ESPN's Hoopgurlz. The honor roll student was an all-state selection and team MVP her junior and senior years, while also leading Raytown to back-to-back conference championships and district titles during that time.

Hale also participated in the 2009 Missouri-Kansas All-Star game and has been a member of the KC-Select AAU program for the past two seasons.