Wahlert's Till commits to Hawkeyes

DUBUQUE - Claire Till nearly committed to Wisconsin.

Then Lisa Bluder called.

Calling it “a dream come true,” Till orally committed Saturday night to play women's basketball at the University of Iowa.

“It's what I wanted all along,” Till, a senior-to-be at Dubuque Wahlert, said Sunday evening.

A 6-foot forward, Till saw her stock rise with a strong performance for the All-Iowa Attack at an AAU tournament in Augusta, Ga., in late July. A few days later, Bluder called.

“(Bluder) said I played really well and that she was very interested in me,” said Till, who will join the Hawkeyes for the 2012-13 season.

Till also considered UW-Green Bay, Northern Iowa, Drake, Illinois State and Missouri.

She averaged 12.7 points per game as a junior. That led the Golden Eagles (15-8), as did her 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Till's mother, Shelley, is a color commentator for the Hawkeyes' radio network. Shelley led Western Dubuque to the 1987 state championship, then had a collegiate career at Drake, Nebraska and UNI.