Colorado University Athletics
WBB Signs Two To NLI
November 13, 2002 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER - Emily Waner, a guard from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and Leslie Howard, a guard from Salem, Mo., signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball at the University of Colorado, Head Coach Ceal Barry announced Wednesday.
Leslie Howard - 5-10, Sr.-HS, G, Salem, Mo. (Salem)
Howard was the South Central Association (SCA) Conference Co-Player of the Year as a junior, averaging 21.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game as her Salem team went 16-10 under coach Phillip Karr. She also earned First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Southeast Missouri and First Team All-Southwest Missouri honors as a junior. Her 21.3 ppg average is a Salem High School record. As a sophomore, Howard was First Team All-SCA and First Team All-Southeast Missouri, averaging 21.0 ppg and grabbing 7.0 boards per game. Howard's team won the SCA Conference Title her freshman year, when she averaged 19.7 ppg and 8.0 boards per game, en route to First Team All-SCA and All-Southeast Missouri honors. She also lists the biggest moment of her high school career coming that season, as she hit the game winning three-pointer to win the SCA Conference Title.
Off The Court: Leslie Jean Howard was born February 11, 1985 in Rolla, Mo., and is the daughter of Gary and Barb Howard. She has one younger sister, Natalie, who is 12 years old. Howard is a multi-talented athlete, as she has two letters in softball, where she hit .474 and is a two-time All-Region selection, and she has also earned three letters in track, where she specializes in the 400 meters. She is Vice President of the Salem National Honor Society, and is a member of the Spanish Club, Mu Alpha Theta (Math Club) and was the Junior Class Vice President last year. She worked with Special Olympics last year and had "the time of my life" and performed in a drama club production of A Christmas Carol as a junior as well. She plans on majoring in psychology at Colorado, but is also interested in mass communication.
Barry on Howard: "Leslie Howard is an awesome shooter. She will really be able to open things up for us against zones from the outside. With Jenny Roulier and Mandy Nightingale graduated, and Kate Fagan as a senior next year, we really needed to find a shooter. We found her, and she has a really sweet stroke."
Emily Waner - 5-8, Sr.- HS, G, Highlands Ranch, Colo. (ThunderRidge)
Waner was a Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado selection following her junior year, capping off a campaign that saw ThunderRidge advance to the state semifinals with a record of 21-3. Waner averaged 15.0 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.4 spg and 3.5 rpg season her senior year, leading to a host of honors. She was named First Team All-State by the Rocky Mountain News, Honorable Mention All-State by the Denver Post, First Team All-Continental League and a 2002 Street & Smith's Honorable Mention All-American. She participated in the 2002 Adidas All-America Camp, the 2002 USA Basketball Olympic Development Festival, "The Show" All-Star Game and was named the TRHS Hoopster of the Year. Waner has lettered all three years at ThunderRidge, averaging 13.4 ppg and 3.4 rpg as a sophomore en route to a 17-5 record, and put up 7.6 ppg and 2.5 rpg as a freshman, helping TRHS to a 21-3 season. The Grizzlies were 2002 Continental League Champions, 2001 League Runners-up, 2000 Prairie League Champions, 2000 4A State Qualifiers and 2002 5A State Semifinalists. Her AAU team, the Colorado Hoopsters, were the 2001 Nike Cup Champions, 2002 U.S. Junior Nationals Runners-up, and 2002 Nike Cup Finalists. Waner holds the TRHS school records for single season three point shooting (49-140/35-percent), career points (838) and single season assists (143, 5.95 per game).
Off The Court: Emily Elizabeth Waner was born Feb. 5, 1985, and is the daughter of Tim and Jeanie Waner of Highlands Ranch. She has two younger siblings, sister Abby (16) and brother Alex (11), and is undecided on her major at Colorado. She is a three-time academic letterwinner at ThunderRidge, and has maintained a 4.0 grade point average. She lists the biggest moment of her high school career as the state semifinal game against Doherty in 2002.
Barry on Waner: "Emily is a great leader. We are really excited that she has decided to stay in-state and is coming to Colorado to go to school. We will really benefit from her ballhandling. She's a great kid; she's smart, has great leadership skills. I really think she is a steal on the recruiting trails much like Amber Metoyer was a year ago."
