Big loss for women’s basketball team

Published 2:32 pm Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Washington women’s coach Tia Jackson announced today that freshman forward/center Jess McCormack is leaving the program.

McCormack, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, had played in 19 games and started 14, averaging 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds.

A member of New Zealand’s national team, McCormack was planning on leaving Seattle at the end of the quarter join the national team for pre-Olympic commitments, but her deciding not to return was a surprise.

McCormack didn’t go into detail when asked why she was leaving.

“It’s just been multiple reasons,” she said. “It’s just kind of added up and just hasn’t worked out to be the right spot for me. It hasn’t felt completely right this whole year and I just want to be comfortable with where I am, and it just hasn’t quite worked out that way, unfortunately.”

McCormack has battled homesickness and injuries this season, but seemed to still be enjoying herself. I wrote about her less than two weeks ago, and she sounded like she was happy here despite her struggles.

For now, McCormack plans to focus on her Olympic commitments, but may eventually come back to the U.S. to play college basketball.

“I’m going to go home right now and continue with my Olympic commitments, then probably talk to my parents,” she said. “I think I’d like to come back to the states, but as of right now, I don’t have any plans yet for the future.”

Jackson had to work to bring McCormack to Washington after June Daugherty was fired. McCormack, along with Spokane’s Katelan Redmon, tried to get released from her letter of intent after Daugherty’s firing.

Jackson said she was “terribly disappointed” to be losing McCormack, but that they “wish Jess all the success in the world, especially in the upcoming 2008 Olympics; but more importantly, we wish her peace of mind and complete happiness wherever this path takes her.”