Warren's Prince fits in fine with Milwaukee

In a room filled with her Warren basketball teammates, including family and friends of Amanda Barger, who was celebrating her college signing, Jessica Prince sat a table.

A hoodie covered her head.

For one of the rare times, the 6-foot-3 Warren senior didn't stand out.

"It is really cool," Prince said of the atmosphere, which included pizza and cake, and lots of chatting and laughing.

"A friend of mine," Prince added of Barger. "A good teammate. Been together since eighth grade.

"I'm really excited for her. She truly deserves it. She worked hard to get where she is right now."

Prince, too.

On Monday, she stands out.

It will be Prince's turn to own the room when she signs her letter of intent with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to play Division I basketball.

"I really like the coaching staff, the players, the city, the environment," said Prince, who will play for head coach Sandy Botham, whose Panthers are a perennial contender in the Horizon League. "It's a very good school."

Prince is a very good basketball player.

Like Barger, she's played on varsity since her freshman year.

"She's worked hard," Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said of Prince. "She's an inside presence. We tell her every day she should be the best big girl in Lake County this year."

Prince averaged close to 12 points and made the all-conference team as a junior. The center has the ability to average a double-double in points and rebounds.

"What we're always looking for from Jessica is consistency," Stanczykiewicz said. "I think being such a big kid playing against who she plays with, it's easy for her to kind of let up at times and just allow her size to get rebounds, baskets, post-ups or touches."

Stanczykiewicz is confident that with Prince being a senior she will be especially motivated this season.

Plus, Warren, with its D-I duo of Prince and Barger as well as talented guard Lexi Leneau, could have its best season since another big, 6-5 Sarah Boothe (Stanford), played for the Blue Devils four years ago.

"I'm very excited for the season coming up," Prince said. "We've been in practice working hard, and we look really good."

Prince said Western Michigan offered her a scholarship first. She and her Warren teammates had participated in a team camp at UW-Milwaukee over the summer.

She plans to take an official visit Friday.

"Once I went to Milwaukee, I really liked (the coaches)," Prince said. "I was like, 'This is where I want to go.' "