LSSU women's basketball team signs two guards

SAULT STE. MARIE – Lake Superior State women’s basketball coach Justin Rees is assembling his first recruiting class for the Lakers and signed 5-8 combination guard Marie Gaedke of Dearborn, Mich., and 5-8 wing Kaylyn Counts of Belleville, Mich.

Gaedke earned All-Michigan Mega Conference and All-Metro West Honorable Mention after averaging 18 points, 3.5 assists and 5.7 steals per game for Dearborn-Edsel Ford High School as a junior in 2010-11.

“Marie is a quick combo guard,” Rees said. “With her ball-handling skills she has the ability to play the point for us, and with her shooting range she can push over to the ‘2’ spot. She really excels in the open court where she can use her vision and speed to help our offense create easy opportunities in transition. Marie also has a tremendous work ethic and always plays hard, which easily carries over to her teammates.We believe that with her focus just on basketball at the college level, she will really begin to reach her potential on the court.”

An honors student with a 4.0 grade point average, Gaedke also garnered all-conference and all-region recognition in volleyball, and all-conference and all-district awards in soccer.

Gaedke scored a school-record 54 points during an 89-97 triple-overtime victory over Livonia on Dec. 2. She hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at the end of the second overtime and sank the winner on a driving lay-up in the final 1.2 seconds. She also compiled 15 rebounds and 12 steals during the game. Gaedke’s 54-point total ranks seventh on the MHSAA’s all-time single-game scoring list. Last season, she set a single-game school record for steals with 14 and helped lead her team to district titles in 2009 and ’10.

Counts averaged 17 points and 14 rebounds per game, and was named Belleville High School’s best defensive player last season. She earned All-Southern Michigan Athletic Association Honorable Mention. Counts is an honor roll student who also participates in band (first chair and marching band squad leader).

“Kaylyn has the skill set to play either the ‘2’ or ‘3’ in our system,” Rees said. “She is very athletic and has good speed along the perimeter. Kaylyn is a tremendous rebounder at the high school level for her size, and we are looking forward to her bringing that mentality and toughness to our lineup. She can score from anywhere on the floor, as she has good three-point range and the ability to get to the rim off the bounce. We also plan to take advantage of her athleticism on the defensive end, where she has the ability to guard any position in the back court.”

Counts scored 18 points during a recent over Wayne Memorial (51-39). Belleville and Edsel Ford are scheduled to play each other today.