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DOWAGIAC — The Southwestern Michigan College women’s basketball team has landed its ninth member of the Class of 2024.

Kate Gilroy, of Gross Ile High School in Grosse Ile, has signed her National Junior College Athletic Association letter of intent to play for the Roadrunners.

“Kate’s best attribute offensively is playing with her back to the basket and playing block to block,” said Grosse Ile Coach James Frost. “She also has a strong jump shot that can extend the defense. Kate aggressively goes after offensive rebounds and gets lots of second chance scoring opportunities. Defensively, Kate is the backbone of our 2/3 defense. She is responsible for protecting the rim by forcing the opponents to take a contested shot. Kate also averages about 2 blocks per game.”

Gilroy joins Miss Kentucky Basketball candidate Shiyah Forte, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky; Khalise Collins, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Rayvan Rush, of Lansing, Illinois; Atyanna Alford, of Cassopolis; Cam Edmondson, of Harvey, Illinois; Bella Cullifer, of Constantine; Maggie Weller, of Dowagiac; and Olivia Robinson, of Roscoe, Illinois.

“Kate is a true traditional post,” said SMC Coach Jay Jenkins. “At 6-foot-2, she will be a dominant force in the paint. We are definitely going to feed her the ball down low and make opponents try to stop her.”