FAIRHOPE, Alabama — Raven Priolo of Fairhope High signed scholarship papers last week to play basketball at Chattahoochee Valley Community College.

Priolo averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game in her last season for the Lady Pirates at Fairhope from her center/forward position.

“I just got along with the coach and the girls and I liked the campus at Valley and the area is very nice. It just all seemed right and that's important—who I’m going to be around and work and play with. It also is important for me because I really want to keep playing basketball as well as go to college so it’s really like a dream come true to get to do both. To get an education and to get to play basketball is special.”

She also liked that she would stay a Lady Pirate and stay somewhat close to Daphne friend and basketball foe Amber Yelding, who signed with Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa recently.

“It’s really special that I’ll be in the same conference with her. That will be fun. We love each other but we always play hard to beat each other, too. And at Valley, they are the Lady Pirates, too, and the colors are about the same, so I’ll get to stay a Pirate. I like that.”

The CVCC Lady Pirates finished as the runner-up in the ACCC Championships this year.

Fairhope coach Jessica Webb said Priolo has not only the physical skills and size, but has some quality intangibles on the court like passion, leadership and innate “basketball” aggressiveness.

“Raven is very physical, very aggressive, but is one of those players who never gets injured. She takes collision after collision and hit after hit. She’s tough. Once she’s in that game mode she's all in. And sometimes that has gotten her in early foul trouble, but she’s made a lot of progress. Her junior year, she really started focusing on learning how to be more disciplined. Stay in control and be physical but still not foul out as much.

“She’s such a postive kid. Cares about the game, about her teammates, her family.”

The daughter of Wendy McCants and William Jackson, Priolo plans to study visual communications.