When Freedom senior guard Kayla Jefferson weighed her college choices this fall, it was her observation of a basketball practice at Eastern University that convinced her to commit to Eagles’ women’s basketball coach Eric Houston on Nov. 24.

“I called him when I knew for sure, and he was really happy,” said Jefferson. “A few minutes after my verbal commitment, some girls from the team texted me, saying welcome to the family. It felt really great.”

Jefferson had also considered Houghton College in Houghton, N.Y., saying it was a hard decision, but felt she fit in better with the dynamic of the team at Eastern.

“They’re very fast, defense-oriented, a lot of fast breaks, a lot of steals,” Jefferson said.

In October, the future health science major toured the Eastern University campus and met with Coach Houston.

“He’s very down-to-earth, and I feel like he’ll be a good coach for me,” Jefferson said. “He said I play very similar to them- fast, aggressive.”

But it was that basketball practice in November that won Jefferson over.

“And after practice, the girls introduced themselves, and then some of them took me to a smoothie place near campus. It felt like a close-knit family, and I loved the energy and how close they were,” she said.

In addition to playing for Freedom, Jefferson also plays for Lehigh Valley Fever, an AAU Team.

“Coach Cait (Kessler), I really liked her. She was a big part of my confidence and becoming a better player, and I told her that this summer,” said Jefferson.

While waiting for the high school winter sports season to begin, Jefferson has allowed herself to think about next year as well.

“I’m looking forward to the next step in my basketball career, and getting to know the team better,” she said. “I’m looking forward to playing with different people, but playing with people like me.”