TORRINGTON – In her career at Torrington High School, Reece Halley scored more than 1,200 points and grabbed more than 800 rebounds for her career.

She ranks second all-time in scoring and has tallied more rebounds than any other person to come through the Lady Blazers basketball team. Halley also holds one of the highest single-game scoring totals in school history with 31 points against Cheyenne South High School during her junior year.

Halley announced Wednesday afternoon in front of teammates and classmates inside Willi Gym she will continue her basketball career and education at North Platte Community College in Nebraska next year.

“I talked to a lot of different colleges where I could go and play,” Halley said. “They were the ones who felt like I would be a good asset to the team.”

After a campus tour, she fell in love with it.

“It was small, but you could tell they were very basketball focused,” Halley said. “They have a really good program in my area of academic choice.”

Halley chose basketball over volleyball and track and field where she also excelled as a student-athlete, qualifying for state and earning postseason accolades.

“I’ve played it longer, and I enjoy it more,” Halley said of basketball. “Track is very individual, so you don’t get the team experience. Volleyball is a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t want to continue it. Basketball is definitely more my passion.”

The excitement about the signing is a mutual feeling from North Platte head coach Jeff Thurman, calling it an easy choice for the Lady Knight program.

“She’s a high character person,” he said. “Great individual. Great young woman that will represent, not only her hometown here, but our program moving forward.”

Thurman sees Halley as more of a wing player at the next level being able to stretch the floor and making things difficult for opposing defenses.

“What we are looking for is her ability to play multiple positions,” he said. “She’ll be able to stretch the floor and shoot from 3, in the paint or from 15 feet. Her ability to do multiple things for us is what really drew us to her.”

He also attributed her knowledge as a coach’s kid as a big positive for the North Platte program.

“That is an understated aspect of this signing,” Thurman said. “IQ wise, she is just outstanding. She knows the game, understands the game and knows what it takes to get there. Her best basketball is ahead of her.”

North Platte reached the championship game of the Northwest Plains District Tournament in early March and finished the year with a 22-10 record.

Halley plans to study biology with the eventual goal of getting into orthodontics.

“Early college will be pre-dentistry, and then I’ll move on to dentistry then orthodontics,” Halley said. “Lots of school.”

During her time at Torrington, Halley earned four All-Conference honors and three All-State honors in basketball.

“I’m blessed to have played with the people I’ve played with because they made me into the person I am today and the player I am,” Halley said. “We’ve flourished together. It’s been fun.”