Whitfield School girls’ basketball star Aijha Blackwell has given a commitment to the University of Missouri.
Blackwell made her official announcement with a commitment video on her Twitter account on Monday night. After fielding numerous offers, Blackwell narrowed her final list to Missouri, Louisville and Kansas before deciding to stay in her home state and play for the Tigers.
As a final touch, she made her announcement while wearing the No. 33 jersey of her late father Ernest Blackwell, a former Mizzou football standout in the 1990’s who played at Eureka High. Like her father, Aijha wears the No. 33.
A 6’0” guard, Blackwell is one of the most talented players in the United States, as shown by her No. 8 rating in the ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 rankings in the Class of 2019.
As a junior, Blackwell averaged 24.2 points to lead the St. Louis metro area in scoring. She also averaged 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals while shooting 61 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in leading Whitfield to a third-place finish in the Class 3 state tournament. As a sophomore, Blackwell led the Warriors to a runner-up finish in the state tournament.
A starter from the moment she entered high school, Blackwell enters her senior year with 1,900 points and 892 rebounds in her career. She is a sure bet to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career.
During the summer, Blackwell earned the honor of playing for her country as she competed for USA Basketball with the U18 women’s team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Tournament in Mexico City. A starting guard for the USA team, Blackwell averaged nearly 10 points a game as the USA rolled to the gold medal with an undefeated record.
Blackwell will be joining a Missouri program that has been very competitive in the powerful Southeastern Conference under the direction of head coach Robin Pingeton. The Tigers finished the 24-8 record last season and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
