Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / Photos courtesy of the NJCAA
Megan Harrell knew the end was near.
Although her mind told her to keep playing the game she has loved since she was old enough to dribble a basketball, her body told her it was time to move on.
Harrell couldn’t have asked for a much better finish to her basketball career.
Harrell, a sophomore at Lincoln Land Community College and a graduate of Notre Dame High School, helped the Loggers finish fifth at the NJCAA Division II National Championship Saturday in Joplin, Missouri.
In her final game, a 76-61 victory over Lake Land College, Harrell scored 20 points, grabbed three rebounds and had one assist. She was 6-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range and was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line
In the back of her mind, Harrell knew this was the end of the line for her basketball playing days.
But as one door closed, another opened. She has been offered an assistant coaching position with Lincoln Land next season under head coach Chad Jones. It is an opportunity Harrell is looking forward to.
“It’s going to be hard, but it will be a different role, one that I will get used to,” Harrell said. “I hope I am able to suit up and get out there with the girls in practice and show them some post moves. I had multiple four-year coaches contact me about playing next year, but I listened to my mind and body. My body tells me it’s time to stop playing.”
Harrell helped the Loggers to a 34-3 record, going undefeated on their home court. She averaged 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and shot 49.1 percent from the field, 61.1 percent from 3-point range and 65.8 percent from the free-throw line.
She had 12 double doubles on the season. She scored a season-high 28 points at Lewis and Clark on Feb. 25th and 26 points at Danville College. Her best rebounding performances of 14 at Parkland and 13 at Rend Lake College reflect her all-around game.
During her two seasons at Lincoln Land, the Loggers were a combined 62-11 and had a pair of top-eight finishes at the national tournament. She surpassed 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her two years at Lincoln Land.
Harrell’s hard work did not go unnoticed as she raked in postseason awards.
She was named the NJCAA Region 24 women’s basketball Player of the Year.
Harrell also was named the Mid-West Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Harrell also was named to the all-tournament team at the national tournameny. In four games, she averaged 21.2 points, eight rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shot 46.4 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range and 81.1 percent from the free-throw line.
“We played at the national tournament last year, so that really helped us this year with four of us coming back,” Harrell said.
Harrell, who lives in Carthage, Illinois, was a 2022 graduate of Notre Dame High School. It was there that Harrell blossomed as an athlete.
She was a three-sport athlete, playing volleyball, basketball, and track, earning 10 varsity letters. She was the SEI Super Conference South Division Player of the Year in basketball her senior year. She was a member of the Nikes’ back-to-back state champion volleyball teams in 2020 and 2021.
“(Former Notre Dame girls basketball coach Jim) Myers taught me a lot about the game and about life,” Harrell said “You watched what he was going through and fighting to keep doing what he loved to do. He was the perfect picture of what I wanted to do. He taught us to keep fighting until that final buzzer sounds. Fight all the way to the finish.”
Harrell signed to play for NCAA Division II Quincy University out of high school, but another knee injury ended her season and she redshirted that year without playing a single game.
With a new coaching staff coming in the following year, Harrell thought it was time for a change of scenery.
“I remembered Coach Jones contacting me my senior year at Notre Dame,” Harrell said. “I sent him an email and the rest is history.”
Harrell, who was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, is finishing up classes online at Penn State University for a Bachelor’s Degree in Ag Business.
Harrell, the daughter of Traci and Mark Harrell, is ready to continue the family tradition of coaching basketball.
“My Mom coached me all the way up until high school. We won middle school state three times,” Megan Harrell said. “I’m doing an internship back home in Carthage this summer, then I’ll come back and start coaching. I have a real love for the game. I want to stay around it as long as I can. You have to really love it and really work at it to achieve your goals. I want to pass that on to the players at Lincoln Land.”