Basketball New Zealand

Tall Fern and former Washington centre Jess McCormack

Tall Fern Jess McCormack has decided to leave the University of Washington women’s basketball programme.

McCormack, a 1.96m freshman forward/centre, played in 19 games for the Huskies this season and started 14. She averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds, while recording nine double-figure scoring efforts.

Her best outing of the season was a 17-point, 11-rebound performance v UC Davis at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 16. During that tournament, she averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.

McCormack’s season was hampered by injuries as she missed three games with a sprained ankle, one game due to illness and three games after suffering a concussion in a game with USC, January 13.

McCormack will remain in school through the end of the winter quarter.

“There are several reasons for this decision and as you can imagine, we’re terribly disappointed,” said coach Tia Jackson. “Although a complete surprise, I do know that adjusting to college life and being so far away from home can be a challenge.

“And it’s been a difficult year for Jess, having battled with numerous injuries and the distance between Seattle and her homeland of Auckland, New Zealand.

“Albeit a very tough decision, we certainly wish Jess all the success in the world, especially in the upcoming 2008 Olympics. More importantly, we wish her peace of mind and complete happiness wherever this path takes her.”

McCormack was recruited for the Huskies by former coach June Daugherty, who lost her job at Washington soon afterwards. She will now return to New Zealand to prepare for the Beijing Olympics and probably seek a scholarship elsewhere for next season.