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South Valley Riverton Journal

Enger signs as a Hornet

Dec 01, 2017 08:00AM ● By Greg James

Milee Enger and her family after she signed her national letter of intent to play basketball at Sacramento State. (Mike Enger)

She sat at the table in the hallway at Herriman High School and signed a letter of intent, fulfilling a lifelong dream to play college basketball.

“It is a dream come true,” Herriman senior Milee Enger said.

On Thursday, Nov. 8, Enger signed her name and accepted a scholarship offer to attend and continue playing basketball at Sacramento State after her high school graduation.

“I am so excited to have this chance,” Enger said. “Sacramento State really fit into what I wanted in a school.” 

The 5-foot-6-inch senior guard has been a four-year varsity player at Herriman. She has scored 692 points in her first three years for the Mustangs. In her career ,the lady Mustangs have not advanced to the state tournament.

She scored a career-high 26 points last season against Box Elder. 

“I think this season is going to be great,” she said. “We need to play well to accomplish our goals. Our new coach has us focused.” 

In her freshman season, her head coach Jill Ames said, “Enger is a pitbull, not afraid of anyone.”

Enger and senior Macy Markus had been a dominant duo for the Mustangs, but Markus suffered a season-ending injury and won’t be able to play her senior season.

“We have been a couple of tough players for our teams,” Enger said. “It will be hard this year not to have her by my side.” 

Her senior season will be under the guidance of a new head coach. Tim Turpin has taken over the program after Jill Ames stepped down at the end of last season. Turpin comes to Herriman from Juan Diego High School where he was the girls head coach. 

Enger’s family is a basketball-oriented family. Her older brother Stockton was a four-year varsity contributor at Herriman. He scored 342 points in his career. He is currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Belgium-Netherlands Mission.

Sacramento State plays in the Big Sky Conference. The Conference includes Southern Utah University and Weber State University. The team is coached by Bunky Harkleroad. Under his direction, the Hornets have broken the NCAA Division 1 record for three-point attempts and shots made—twice. 

The Hornets finished last season with a 10-20 overall record and a 6-12 conference record. That was good enough for an eighth-place tie with Weber State. They play a run-and-gun style and last season scored 132 points against Portland State, a Big Sky women’s record.

The Hornets have a history of scheduling challenging opponents. This season they have nine games against teams that played in last year’s NCAA tournament. 

Sacramento State is located in Sacramento, California. Its famous alumni include Tom Hanks, Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News and David Hodo, the founding member of The Village People.