Pickford's Guild signs with Aquinas College
PICKFORD — Pickford senior Kennedy Guild has signed with Aquinas College women's basketball.
Guild was joined by teammates, her high school coach and family as she signed with Aquinas while at the Pickford gym Wednesday.
Aquinas was the leading school in Guild’s recruitment since last spring when she took her first visit.
“The coach reached out to me and we set up a visit last March,” Guild said. “I really liked the coach and the campus right from the start. I went back for more visits over the summer for some practice and open gyms and it seemed like the right fit.
“The location is also something I liked. I knew I wanted to go school downstate and in a bigger city. Grand Rapids is such a nice city. While it’s bigger, the campus is in a smaller, rural setting. I connected with coach Fish (Stephanie Fisher) and coach (Brian) Morris and the team.”
Guild, a 5-7 guard/forward, led the Lady Panthers in scoring for four straight seasons and finished as Pickford’s all-time girls basketball scoring leader with 1,355 points. She averaged 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.8 steals as a senior as was the back-to-back Eastern UP Conference Player of the Year. Pickford closed with a 19-3 overall record and won the EUPC with a perfect 10-0 mark.
“Kennedy was the all around player that could play any position on the floor,” Pickford coach Christy Thurmes said. “She was dedicated to the sport, putting in many extra hours outside the season as well as playing travel basketball. She was a team player and now holds the scoring record at PHS with 1,355 career points.”
Among a number of honors in her senior year, Guild was named Associated Press All-State First Team in Division 4. She was All-Upper Peninsula First Team, and BCAM’s Best all-state team in Division 4.
Pickford featured a veteran team and Guild was part of a senior class that included three fourth-year starters, along with a third-year junior starter.
This past season, the Panthers made it to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1988.
“I have so many good memories of playing sports at Pickford,” Guild said. “I’m happy with the way my high school basketball career ended and I thought we had a great season. It was the closest I’ve ever been with a team. It will be weird not having Lucy (Bennin), Lizzie (Storey) and Maddie (Thurmes) as teammates since were were together forever it seems.”
Guild says she would like to study pre-dentistry at Aquinas. Aquinas, located in Grand Rapids, competes in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is a member of the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference.
“I always wanted to play college basketball,” Guild said. “I’m excited to be joining a new team. I think this last year, playing travel basketball with the Michigan Mystics, it started to sink it that it could be a reality. There were so many coaches watching at all the tournaments.
“I’ve worked really hard. It’s really rewarding to see that work pay off and have an opportunity to play at the next level.”
Contact Sports Editor Rob Roos at rroos@sooeveningnews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @rroosTEN.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Pickford's Guild signs with Aquinas College
