Another Suffolk athlete has signed on to play at the next level. King’s Fork High School girls’ basketball standout Brianna Copeland, a senior, has signed to play college basketball at Chowan University.

The Lady Bulldog was an integral part of the team’s success, averaging 13.4 points this year. She earned all-district and all-region honors.

Copeland admitted at first her recruiting process wasn’t going as well. She was hearing minimal interest from schools, but last year, King’s Fork participated in a team camp at Chowan, and she caught the coaching staff’s eye while there. She already knew a few players that were a part of the team. They offered her a spot, and that eventually turned into the senior making it her future home.

“I loved the gym, the atmosphere and the campus,” she said. “I also loved the coach. She was so energetic, and she believed in me so much that she wanted me to come there. Honestly, that made it an easy decision for me. I loved Chowan, and my family did too, mostly because it isn’t too far away.”

Chowan wants Copeland to come in and push the ball up the floor at the guard position. She feels she can be both a great shooter and scorer for the team. She hopes to be a valuable asset off of the bench for Chowan as well as bringing energy.

“When it’s shooting or getting to the basket, I think I can do some good things for them,” she said. “I can also look for my teammates and give great energy.”

King’s Fork advanced all the way to the state semifinal game this season before coming up short. Even though the team didn’t quite reach its ultimate goal, Copeland felt good about her last season for the Lady Bulldogs. Individually, Copeland wanted to make some noise in her senior season, and she felt like she did that with the accolades she received.

“I felt like I gave all I could,” she said. “It ended on a sour note, but I am very proud of what we accomplished as a team this season and especially over the last two years. I’m going to really miss them, especially Coach (Maurice) Fofana.”