Black Hawk East College women’s basketball coach Dave Wallace likes to play a fast style with players running up the floor on fast breaks, so, when he came to Dunlap last year to watch Lauren Keegan play, he knew he found the perfect point guard for his system.

“She is an athletic point guard who plays really hard on both ends,” Wallace said. “She rebounds well, and she has a toughness about her that we like to see. She will be able to step in right away and help us win.”

Keegan, the senior point guard who led the Lady Eagles in assists and free throw percentage last year, recently signed a letter-of-intent to play for Black Hawk East, a Division 1 junior college located in Kewanee.

Wallace said he was just as impressed with Keegan’s off-the-court attributes.

“She’s a good student and a good person,” he said. “She’ll be an asset to our team and to the college.”

Keegan was considering several junior colleges, including Illinois Central College, but she said she chose Black Hawk East mostly because of Wallace.

“He was friendly, and he wanted me to come play there, but he wasn’t too pushy. He let me make the decision,” she said.

Dunlap girls basketball coach Joe Wenskus said he expects Keegan to play well at the junior college level.

“Lauren isn’t flashy, but she has a quiet confidence, and she gets the job done,” he said. “She has good speed and ball-handling skills. She will continue to get even better in college.”

Keegan, a second-team all Mid-Illini Conference selection last year, missed most of her junior season due to an ankle injury.

“She came into her own last year,” Wenskus said.

Wallace said Keegan will be used as a point guard, but he sees potential for her to score more points than she did in high school.

“I can see her improving even more over her two years here,” he said. “She has a lot of potential.”