WATERBURY, Conn. -- Another NLI Signing Day for Post University saw Head Coach Courtney Burns land another recruit, this time in local East Hampton High School player Jacquelyn (Jackie) Russell who committed to joining the Eagles and attending Post University starting in the 2024-25 academic year, last month.

Russell will arrive in Waterbury, Connecticut with a championship pedigree as she played a key role in East Hampton High School's first CIAC Class M State Championship last season in a season where the Bellringers went 24-1 overall, 15-1 in the Shoreline Athletic Conference, and ended the year on a 19-game winning streak which culminated in the State Championship victory over Valley Regional, 31-29. 

In that State Championship Game, Russell came up big for her team with a team-high 12 points but nothing was bigger than her two plays in the waning minutes of the affair. She would score with 1:55 to go off an inbound to give the Bellringers a three-point lead which would be later trimmed to one with just over a minute left. Russell would draw a charge with 6.7 seconds left to nullify an attempt by Valley Regional to take the lead and a missed layup at the buzzer by the Warriors clinched the state title for East Hampton. 

In early February, Russell was money against Cromwell in a 44-37 road victory. The Post commit had four first-half threes en route to 15 points before tacking on another in the second half and finishing with a game-high 20 points. That Cromwell performance would earn her Standout Athlete of the Week. It was just one of Russell's many big scoring performances during her time at East Hampton. She started last season with a 13-point game against Amistad during a 69-26 opening night victory and continued to put up double-digit numbers against teams like Coginchaug (12 points) throughout the season. 

In the 2021-22 season, Russell was one of the top scorers in the Shoreline Atlantic Conference by mid-January with 14.6 points per game. That mark came just a few weeks after she went off for 25 points, 21 of which came from three-point range against Cromwell in a game where East Hampton was held to two points in the third quarter before scoring 24 points in the fourth. Of those 24 points, Russell canned 15 of them as the Bellringers were able to win a tight contest, 44-38. 

East Hampton has won the last four Shoreline Athletic Conference titles dating back to 2020 which has led to a stretch in which they enter the year having a 60-4 record. In Russell's time with the team, they have not lost the conference and now added a state title to the resume this past season which they look to defend this year. The 2023-24 schedule for East Hampton kicked off last week with a pair of wins over Haddam-Killingworth, 45-35, and then a resounding 40-17 win over North Kingstown in the Jiggs Cecchini Challenge at Mohegan Sun. 

Speaking about Russell, Coach Burns said, "I've seen Jackie's game progress and develop for the last 8 years. She is as committed as any player I have ever coached to developing their craft. She is an ELITE defender and will bring leadership to our program as a freshman. I could not be more excited to have Jackie apart of our family for the next four years."