Russell Commits To Perennial Sweet 16 Contender For ‘20

Merissah Russell (6’0”, G/F, Capital Courts, 2020, 5-stars) of Ottawa, ON has verbally committed to attend the University of Louisville.

Russell, a hard working 5-star athlete that will join the Cardinals in the Fall of 2020, for play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Over the past 18 or so months to say that she has been making a name for herself, would be quite the understatement. During that time she has amassed a playing resume that had seen her standout in competitions against EYBL teams as a member of Team Ontario U17 last summer and become an integral part of Capital Court’s inaugural season in Ontario’s prep league last September. Earlier this year, she earned an invite to the Canadian National Women’s Basketball Team at the Commonwealth Games that was played in Australia, and followed that up with a very respectable showing at The Boo Williams April NCAA viewing period event in Virginia, where Russell continued to gain interest from many schools. This summer Russell bypassed the AAU July circuit in order to play with the U17 Canadian Women’s National Team at the FIBA World Championships in Belarus. There she averaged over 11 points per game, including an 18 point performance against Angola.

As a ‘do it all’ type player, Russell’s size has enabled her to put her stamp on games played for her Capital Courts Prep team in a number of ways. She is very strong and has a very good Post game on both ends of the floor, showing the ability to defend players bigger than her, as well as demonstrating an efficient back to the basket game. Over the past couple of years, Russell has been consistently refining her ball handling skills, decision making and on court leadership skills while running the Point for CCA and while playing with Team Ontario. While never neglecting her scoring ability at all three levels, she has become a quintessential multi-position player that routinely created mis-matches for her opponents. Along with a fiery, yet respectful, hard working yet humble attitude, her will to succeed has made this lofty decision to play for one of the best teams in the NCAA, one that comes with an expectation that she will not only meet the demands what is asked of her at such high of a level, but exceed them.

The Louisville Cardinals are perennially one of the top teams in the NCAA, having made the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen 8 times since 2008, including a run that saw them make it to the Final Four earlier this year.