UW Marathon County basketball standout Morgan Rachu signs with Iona College

MARATHON - Morgan Rachu has had a dream of playing major college basketball since her youth days in the sport. Her path to making it a reality just took an extra turn along the way. 

Rachu, a former Raiders standout, signed a letter of intent with Iona College at Marathon High School earlier this week — a move that comes after two seasons with with the University of Wisconsin Marathon County women's basketball team and a winter in which she averaged 37.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for the Huskies.

"Going Division I always has been a childhood dream but I never really thought it was possible because I didn't know if I was a good enough player or I was tall enough to play (at that level)," said the 5-foot-8 Rachu, who helped the Huskies to the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference championship this season. "Signing the letter of intent was a feeling of, 'Wow, this is real and I am actually going to get to play.' It was the dream becoming a reality and it just felt good."

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Rachu helped the Marathon girls basketball team reach the  Division 4 semifinals in the 2015 and '16 WIAA state girls basketball tournaments, and scored 1,085 points in 38 career games at UW Marathon County. Rachu received interest from a number of Division III college programs in high school and gave serious consideration to UW-Stevens Point. She ultimately chose UW Marathon County in part because she was unsure about what direction she wanted to take academically and also felt the two years of junior college basketball refined her game. 

"My scoring is where I feel I improved the most," Rachu said. "I scored in high school but it wasn't my dominant aspect. But from my first season in college to the second I definitely improved in my scoring and focused a lot on my 3-point shooting and that has come a long way."

Rachu flew out to New Rochelle, New York, two weeks ago for an official visit at Iona, shortly after she was contacted by the Gaels coaching staff. She participated in a scrimmage with members of the Iona women's basketball team and was offered a scholarship on the spot at the end of her visit. Rachu, who had visited Northern Michigan a few weeks before, accepted the offer the next morning. 

"It was a full range of emotions," Rachu said. "Going in (to Iona) I was hoping for (the offer) but wasn't expecting it. I feel that I am a good player but I know there are better ones. Sitting in the (Iona) coaches office, I was just hoping for the best. When they said they would like to offer me a scholarship, I didn't even have words to match my feelings."

Iona is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and play a style which Rachu felt was a perfect fit for her.

"(in the scrimmage) we were constantly pushing the ball and running the court and that is definitely something I was used to, especially at Marathon County," Rachu said. "We were always wanting to push the ball and that is a system that I feel I really fit well in. I felt comfortable playing with (Iona)."

Rachu could be an immediate fit with the Gaels lineup.

"They mentioned that they needed a player who could score and they felt that I had that mentality. They felt that I would fit perfect with their team," Rachu said. "With them saying that, I am just going to keep doing what I am doing and hopefully it will work out for me."