“I just reclassified and now I’m a 2020 senior,” Perdue said on Wednesday night. “I’ll be (at Toledo) for summer workouts.”
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Perdue played for the AAU national champion West Virginia Thunder last summer. That also was the time she considered graduating early.
“I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders and now I have time to focus on my last year of high school basketball and focus more on my schoolwork,” she said. “It was getting a little stressful with some of the coaches contacting me every day.”
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She also listed Eastern Michigan, Ohio University and Akron among her final schools. She said Wright State made an offer and Dayton did not.
Fairmont grad Mali Morgan-Elliott, a 5-11 forward, is a freshman at Toledo this season.
A much-hyped Springfield middle-school phenom, Perdue made a spectacular freshman debut at Springfield High School in 2017 by putting a school-record 40 points on visiting Yellow Springs in that season’s opener, her first varsity game.
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She topped her own single-game Wildcats scoring record by making seven 3-pointers and going off for 45 points in a blowout defeat of visiting Bellefontaine last season.
Perdue led the Greater Western Ohio Conference in scoring (20.8) last season and was second (22.0) to Shaq McGruder of Trotwood-Madison (25.8) as a freshman.
Springfield set a program record for most wins since the North/South merger by going 11-13 in the 2017-18 season and was 9-15 last season.
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Former Wildcats boys standout and coach KaWambee Gaines is in his first season as the Wildcats’ girls coach. He succeeds Darris Gattis.
Perdue is the latest Greater Western Ohio Conference girls basketball player to either sign or commit. Fairmont 6-3 senior Maddy Westbeld will follow older sister Kathryn Westbeld at Notre Dame. Firebirds 6-4 senior teammate Madison Bartley is headed to Belmont. Wayne senior Nyla Hampton signed with Bowling Green and Centerville junior Amy Velasco is committed to Bowling Green.
»» PHOTOS: Valley View vs. Cin. Wyoming, D-IV regional final
Wayne senior Bree Hall has not signed, but has multiple offers, including Ohio State and Dayton. Centerville sophomore Cotie McMahon also is a top recruit.
“If feels good to be part of that,” Perdue said. “It’s a blessing. Having connected with those girls, we’re really close friends and it’s been all because of basketball.”
Springfield opened this season with a 46-44 overtime win at Butler on Tuesday. Springfield (1-0) is idle until Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Fairmont.
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