South Jersey Standout Alexis Santarelli Signs With Legend At Lafayette

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Alexis Santarelli can relax now. The 6-foot-2 senior four-year starter at Bishop Eustace doesn't have to worry about where she'll play in college. Because on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, Santarelli will be signing her national letter of intent for a basketball scholarship at Lafayette.

Santarelli, who is 307 points shy of reaching 1,000 in her career, didn't just sign to play basketball for anyone. The South Jersey standout committed to Theresa Grentz, the new coach of the Leopards and basketball Hall of Famer, who was a three-time All-American at Immaculata, leading the Mighty Macs to three-straight national championships in the early 1970s.

"That was another reason why I choose Lafayette, to sign with an experienced coach like Coach Grentz," said Santarelli, a first-team Olympic Conference selection her sophomore and junior years. "This is definitely a relief to sign early, because I know where I'm going to college. But I still have to be a leader to my team this year."

Santarelli, the daughter of Letty Huntzman Santarelli, a Division II All-American and Immaculata Hall of Famer, averaged 13 points a game as a junior and has a deft shooting touch.

"The (recruiting) process was a little overwhelming at first, but everyone was telling me to enjoy it and I really did learn to enjoy it," said Lexi, who choose Lafayette over Loyola (Md.), Mount St. Mary's and Wagner. "There were so many choices I didn't know where I wanted to go and what I wanted in a school, or a team or a program. The process did become easier, and that's when I choose Lafayette.

"I feel I can be the best I can be playing for someone like Coach Grentz. The process did help me mature. I think the whole thing will help me become a better basketball player this year."

In 1990, Grentz led the USA National Team to a pair of gold medals at the World Championships in Malaysia and the Goodwill Games in Seattle, Wash. Two years later, she coached the US Olympic Team to a bronze medal in Barcelona. In 2014, Grentz and her Immaculata teammates were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Grentz coached at St. Joseph's, Rutgers and Illinois. She was a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. She led Cardinal O'Hara to three-straight Philadelphia Catholic League and Philadelphia city championships in the late 1960s.