June 9, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas
TCU Women's Basketball Head Coach Jeff Mittie announced Wednesday that Stephanie Thiel from Seward County Community College has signed a National Letter of Intent with the Purple and White for the 2004-05 season. Thiel is the seventh newcomer for TCU, joining spring signee Vanessa Clementino and fall signees Ashley Goodwin, Amanda Holmes, Moneka Knight, Lorie Rayford-Butler and Marissa Rivera.
"I felt like we needed a pure shooter and there wasn't a better three-point shooter at the junior college level than Stephanie," said Mittie. "She knows how to win and played for a great coach in Jim Littell. Seward County is one of the top programs in the country, and we've had top-notch players from Coach Littell in the past."
TCU saw two former Seward County stars conclude their careers with the Lady Frogs this past season. Kim Ortega and Tracy Wynn, both starters in 2003-04, played for the Lady Saints and helped the school win the 2002 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship.
The 5-foot-9 Thiel filled the two-guard hole for SCCC last season, knocking down a school record 128 three-pointers. She also established a new single-game record for threes by hitting eight. For the season, Thiel averaged 14 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Thiel was a first-team member of the All-Jayhawk West Conference Team and earned a spot on the Region VI First Team. She was also a WBCA/Kodak First Team All-America honoree and was named honorable mention by the NJCAA. Thiel's résumé also includes places on the Region VI and NJCAA All-Tournament Teams.
A native of Nazareth, Texas, Thiel originally signed with the University of Texas and played for one season (2002-03) before leaving for personal reasons. She saw limited playing time with the Big 12 champion and NCAA Final Four participant Lady Longhorns, averaging four minutes per game and scoring 15 points on the season in 11 games. All five of her field goals were from three-point territory, where she went 5-for-10.
As a prepster, Thiel helped Nazareth High School win three Texas Class IA state titles and was named the Texas Class IA Player of the Year.
