St. Paul High School basketball player Holly Shafer, seated next to her mother, Tammy, signs her national letter of intent Thursday with Ave Maria University in Florida. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)

By Eric Terrazas, SGVN
twitter.com/WhittierPreps

SANTA FE SPRINGS – St. Paul High School girls basketball player Holly Shafer has chosen her college destination.

Shafer signed her national letter of intent Thursday with Ave Maria University, which is located in Florida.

“I like the team and the atmosphere,” Shafer said of Ave Maria. “It’s a really new school and I get to be a part of something that is growing.

“I really like the school. There’s only 900 students on campus so it will be easy for me to adjust. It’s 30 minutes outside of Miami. It will still have that big city feel even though I’ll be in a small school.”

Shafer said she would like to major in biochemistry.

“I want to be a forensic scientist,” said Shafer, whose favorite television shows include “CSI” and “NCIS.”

Shafer, who plays power forward, averaged 14 points and eight rebounds last season in helping the Swordsmen reach the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A semifinals. She expressed high hopes about the team’s prospects for this season.

“I’m pretty excited,” Shafer said. “We have the same team we had last year. Our chemistry is getting stronger.”

St. Paul is playing in the Leon Davis Classic Tournament, which is being hosted by Whittier Christian. The Swordsmen are scheduled to face the host Heralds at 7:30 p.m. today.