Mtn. Pointe's Powell to return
WNBA player homecoming grand marshal
WNBA player homecoming grand marshal
http://www.wnba.com/monarchs/news/Nicole_Powell_Homecoming.html
Colleen Sparks
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 29, 2006 12:00 AM
A big football game, student royalty presiding over dances, bonfires and visiting alumni make homecoming a special event at any high school.
But this year, it will be a slam dunk at Mountain Pointe High School because a celebrity graduate is visiting and the parade will be bigger and better than ever, students and staff say.
The events kick off this morning when Nicole Powell, a 2000 Mountain Pointe graduate who plays for the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA, visits two homecoming assemblies on the Ahwatukee Foothills campus. She will serve as grand marshal in a longer, jazzed-up school parade starting at 3:45 p.m. today.
"When they told us she was coming and we were going to retire her jersey, it was pretty exciting," said Yasmine Asfoor, 16, a senior and student body president. "It's inspiring to the entire school. Look who we have to come out of Mountain Pointe."
Powell, a forward who is leaving Saturday for Spain to play in an international basketball league, said she is happy to be home and humbled to have her jersey retired.
"I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, are you serious?' " she said. "For me, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm excited about it. I hope I don't let the students down."
Mountain Pointe's assistant principal of activities, Patricia Goolsby, said the school is thrilled to have a role model visit on homecoming.
"She's at the pinnacle of what she could have done in women's sports," Goolsby said. "It's pretty nice of her . . . that she's taking time to do this."
Powell said she has good memories of Mountain Pointe, a school with strong sports teams and academics. She also ran track and played tennis and badminton in high school, and she fondly remembers the principal at the time, Harold Slemmer, and basketball coach Ed Dawson.
Ran track???
:foot stomp: Gawd Gangit
Either way... Congrats
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