The pursuit of Division I scholarships for international players starts almost exclusively in prep schools such as Oak Hill Academy in Wilson, Va., Mount de Chantal Academy in Wheeling, W.V., and Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, Va.

One of the nation’s top high-school teams, Notre Dame Academy, took the lead from its boy’s team, coached by Mike Teasley, who took over the girl’s program five years ago. His link to England started with the recruitment of Alan Metcalfe. And it led to Lauren Thomas-Johnson, his first girl's recruit, from Manchester, England.

Thomas-Johnson opened the door for more imports looking for the same opportunity through Notre Dame Academy. The Thomas-Johnson family relayed the positive feedback to their coach in England. The message also reached two up and coming English stars, Josette Campbell and Azania Stewart, who currently form the core of a nationally ranked team.

That tie to England would prove fruitful for Teasley as head of the girl's program. Teasley made the switch the year Metcalfe arrived. It was that same year that Mooney told Teasley about a girl from Manchester, Thomas-Johnson, whom he believed was one of the best in the country.

“(Mooney) said we have really good girls over here that are looking for the same opportunity to come to the States and have a chance so they can go to college,” Teasley said.

Thomas-Johnson’s family began sending Teasley newspaper articles and profile information to familiarize him with her abilities. Unlike Metcalfe, Thomas-Johnson was able to spend a two full years at NDA. Upon her arrival,Teasley discovered he was not the first to bring female players in from England. Joanna Clayden from Lancashire, England, played for a year at Oak Hill Academy before going to a junior college and then Auburn where she graduated last summer. Chantelle Handy, a 6-foot-3 guard from Durham, England, currently is a red-shirt sophomore at Marshall.

Handy left England to come to the U.S. when she was 16 years old. She had been playing basketball for only three years when she finally convinced her mom to let her go overseas to pursue her dream. But, because of positive reports from an England-based, prep-school scout, Handy had a list of U.S. prep schools pursuing her. Handy chose Mount de Chantal in West Virginia, which compiled more than 50 victories during the two seasons and be ranked No. 1 in the state.

“When I went to high school (in England) we didn’t have a team,” Handy said. “The boys played and you were lucky if you even got to play. Some schools don’t allow you to play with the boys. In high school I never played basketball. I played outside, for my national team and my club team so really you don’t have female teams in high school. So a lot of the stuff I was doing was extra activity. My mom would take me to practice every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“I was only 16 when I left home,” Handy said. “The first year was tough, but after that, there was about seven or eight girls in my shoes so we all just stuck together and did what we had to do.”

Handy was with a group of players from overseas, but did not share the great situation the imports at Notre Dame had with an older player in Thomas-Johnson learning the ropes and guiding the two younger players from the same country. Handy had players from other countries who were homesick and dealing with the stress of living in a foreign country to confide in.

Handy was expecting to come to the U.S. for two years and probably head home. She didn’t expect to realize her dreams of playing Division I basketball. Now that she is living her dream at Marshall University and looking back she benefited greatly by coming over early in her high school career.

“I think coming to high school first definitely helped me in my college game,” Handy said, “because coming to college first I would’ve been way behind. So it was a great experience to get two years of high school… in American basketball it’s totally different to European basketball.”

Despite the culture shock, not having her parents around, and adjusting to the American game, Handy did have one advantage. Since she was 14 years old, she had been played against women on the national team, in addition to players her own age. The speed of the game was different but playing against bigger and stronger players was not foreign to Handy, an experience that translated well to the college game.

This past summer Handy spent time with her national team again and upon returning to Marshall felt more confident and ready to make an impact. Handy is now a full-time starter in her sophomore year and has stepped her game up. Her scoring average, field goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio are all up this season and even her coaches have told her what a different player she is.

Players in the country's best professional league, the WNBL, have come up through the club ranks, probably won a national championship for their state’s club team and have competed against the country’s best as teenagers. “They’re playing with and against women at 16,” Brown said.

For the Australians there is no language barrier so the players that do not make the WNBL or have a shot at the national team as teenagers can go to America and directly to college. For many Europeans their mastery of the English language prohibits them from jumping from foreign high schools directly to Division I universities. These players typically follow the Prep School route or enter community or junior colleges first and then transfer to Division I schools when they can handle the academics.

Without the infrastructure of the Australian basketball system, players from Europe such as Handy took a risk in coming to the U.S. Despite the passion there were doubts.

"I never thought I would actually be playing division I basketball," Handy said in retrospect. "I thought I would play two years of high school and go home."

The risk has a reward as coming overseas enabled Handy to elevate her game to the highest level for her country. She was the second youngest player this summer for the U.K. national team that went 3-0 at the EuroBasket 2007. For Campbell, Handy and Stewart there is nothing bigger than playing for their country and this experience made that possible.

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