The run of success at Marsh Valley girls basketball has not gone unnoticed.

    The Eagles’ Kami Hansen has committed to play basketball for the Pierce College Raiders located in Lakewood, Wash.

    The Marsh Valley senior considered Grays Harbor, Highline Community College and Treasure Valley Community College, but Pierce College was the right fit.

    “At Pierce, it’s a really nice facility,” Hansen said. “When I was playing with the girls, they just made me feel comfortable.”

    A comfort level with the players, the facilities and head coach Brian Purugganan was a great start, but Hansen said she wanted to go somewhere where she could improve.

    Playing college basketball has always been a dream but she hopes to parlay her time in Lakewood into an opportunity at a four-year program.

    “He said he would push me and get me to the point where I could go to a bigger school as soon as possible,” Hansen said.

    Not only does Hansen believe Purugganan can help her game continue evolving, but he will do it within the context of a system that fits what she does best.

    The Raiders play a fast, aggressive style that demands its players can run in the full court. Hansen, a small but quick guard, has always had that sort of attacking attitude.

    “I’ve been raised to play that way since I was young,” she said.

    At Marsh Valley, Hansen was not just brought up in a basketball culture that prefers to play in the open court. The Eagles know how to win. In her four years at Arimo, Marsh made it to the state tournament each season.

    The highlight was 2012 when Marsh Valley blasted its competition — margins of victory at the state championships were 29, 20 and 17 — on the way to a state title and an unblemished 25-0 record.

    The undefeated streak did not stop until it reached 30 games this past season.

    Considering her personal and team success in high school, Hansen expects to win. It’s all she has ever known.

    “It’s going to make me play harder (and) practice harder,” she said. “Just every single moment make it real because if you don’t take it seriously you’ll end up short.”

    Of course winning in high school is one thing, success in college is another. Pierce competes in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), a conference stuffed full with 34 community colleges across Washington and Oregon.

    But she will not travel north alone. Century’s Rowan Keller has committed to play for the Raiders, too.

    Hansen and Keller played with one another at Marsh Valley until Keller transferred to play for the Diamondbacks her sophomore year. The two have kept in contact, though, and Hansen thinks they will instantly pick up the connection they shared on the court.

    “We’ve talked about it, seriously, since we were in sixth grade, if we could go play college ball together,” Hansen said. “And it’s actually happening, and it’s crazy. I’m so excited to play with her.”