Penn Hills standout commits to Temple

Desiree Oliver got her first scholarship offer when she was in eighth grade. But she waited four years to make her college decision.

Oliver, a talented 5-foot-7 senior guard on the Penn Hills High School girls basketball team, made a verbal commitment Friday to Temple.

Duquesne was the first to offer Oliver a scholarship when she was an eighthgrader. But Oliver made her final decision among Temple, LSU and George Washington. She visited all three schools recently.

Temple recruited Oliver as a “combo guard,” one who can play point or shooting guard. She is ranked the No. 94 player in the country by ESPN’s HoopGurlz.com. Oliver was a member of the Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 a year ago after averaging 18.8 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals a game. She shot 44 percent from 3-point range and enters her senior season with 1,177 career points.

Oliver is one of two top 100 players in the country this season. The other is Sam Breen, a 6-2 senior forward at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. Breen already made a verbal commitment to Dayton.

Oliver and Breen will sign a letter of intent during the NCAA’s weeklong early signing period in November. Isaiah Johnson scored on runs of 2 and 4 yards, as the visiting Planets (5-1, 4-1) handed the Red Hurricane (42, 4-1) their first Northwest Nine Conference loss. Mars