For Immediate Release:  June 18, 2002
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Director of Athletic Media Relations, (956) 381-2240

MARY DECOCK SIGNS WITH LADY BRONC BASKETBALL TEAM

EDINBURG, TX– The University of Texas-Pan American women’s basketball team has added another recruit for the fall semester.

Mary DeCock, a 5-10 guard from Lamberton, Minnesota, Red Rock Central High School, and Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska has joined the Lady Broncs. She will enter Texas-Pan American as a junior this fall, with two years of eligibility remaining.

Last season, DeCock averaged 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, as the Hawks went 25-7. She made 41.5 per cent of her field goals, was 41.6 per cent from three-point range, and made 75 per cent of her free throws. She was the leading vote-getter on the All-Conference Team, and earned All-Region Nine and Region Nine All-Tournament honors. In her two years at NECC, the Hawks were 54-11. A very good student, DeCock earned Academic All-American honors in each of her two seasons at Northeast CC.

As a freshman, DeCock earned All-Conference honors, leading the Hawks to a 29-4 record. She averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game, making 46.5 per cent of her field goal attempts, including 44.3 per cent from three-point range. She was named to the Region Nine All-Tournament Team.

The 2000 Minnesota Class A Player of the Year, De Cock earned All-Red Rock Conference honors in each of her four seasons at Red Rock Central High School in the southwest Minnesota community of Lamberton. She was All-State and All-Area as both a junior and again as a senior and scored more than 1700 points during her high school career.

“Mary is a tremendous shooting guard who has the ability to take over a game with her three-point shooting,” said UTPA Head Coach Carol Russell. “She is a competitor, she has a great work ethic, and plays really hard. Mary is also a great student and a great person, and her character will help enhance our program. She has a bright future, and she will help us reach the next level.”                                                            

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