April 15, 2010

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State has announced the formal signing of Kellie Watson, the 2007-08 Michigan Miss Basketball winner, who will transfer to GVSU from the University of Notre Dame. Watson is a 6'2" long-range threat from Ionia that averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game in high school and played in 31 games during her freshman year for the Fighting Irish in 2008-09.

Watson was a four-time all-state selection at Ionia, as well as being named the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan after averaging 19.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs went 15-7 that season, as Watson was tabbed as Michigan's Miss Basketball, earning 1,115 points in the voting and finishing nearly 400 points ahead of her closest competitor. Her top high school season was in 2006-07 when she totaled 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. Watson was ranked as the sixth-best small forward in the nation coming out of high school. She owns the Ionia scoring record (1,529 points) for both the boys and girls' programs and scored a school-record 41 points during a game.

During her freshman season at Notre Dame, she was named the Big East Freshman of the Week twice (Dec. 1 & Dec. 8) and tied the single game three-point record at the Joyce Center, as she made six of nine three-point attempts against Michigan State on Nov. 29, 2008. In that game, a 78-72 victory over the Spartans, Watson tallied a team-high 18 points with six rebounds in 20 minutes off the Irish bench. She played in all 31 contests as a freshman in 2008-09, averaging 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game. Watson was second on the team with 28 three-pointers and handed out 29 assists, to go along with 12 steals and 10 blocks.