RAPID CITY - Custer basketball and track standout Megan Turner has decided to take her talents to the University of Sioux Falls and the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

"Coach (Katie) Dailey seemed very interested in me coming there," Turner said of the Cougars' head women's basketball coach. "It's a good college and the coaches were all incredible people. They did a really good job of recruiting me and I'm excited to be part of a really good program."

Turner, an all-Black Hills Conference player for the Wildcats, plans to study biology and go into teaching after her playing days are over.

The Cougars can thank one of Turner's teachers at Custer, Paul Kelly, with helping steer Turner in that direction.

"At the end of February one of my teachers told me to look into it," Turner said of Sioux Falls. "He said it was a good school with a good group of athletic coaches."

Despite her success as a basketball player and shot put and discus thrower in track on the high school level, Turner knows she needs to work hard to compete at the next level.

"For basketball I'm going to need to work on my quickness and get a little bit faster release on my shot," Turner said. "In disc and shot I just need to improve all around, really."

Turner expects to contribute in some way right away at the school, which competes in the GPAC, one of the top NAIA athletic conferences in the country.

"They don't like red-shirting," Turner said. "They've got a varsity and a junior varsity so they don't really like to do that."

Contact Duffy at 394-8429 or at padraic.duffy@rapidcityjournal.com