PROVIDED PHOTO Loyalsock’s Lacey Kriebel signed her letter of intent to play basketball at Lock Haven University. Pictured with her, from left, are brother Andrew, mother Amy, Lacey and father Dean.

Throughout her childhood, Loyalsock senior Lacey Kriebel’s life revolved around basketball. From three years as a starter with South Williamsport and Loyalsock to continued work in the offseason playing AAU ball, the sharpshooter has made a name for herself within the Williamsport community and beyond.

“Basketball is pretty much my whole life,” Kriebel said. “I can’t imagine living without it.”

On Wednesday, November 13, Kriebel signed his letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Lock Haven University, choosing the Bald Eagles over Bloomsburg University and Saint Thomas Aquinas College.

While extending her basketball career for another four years, she will study to become a nurse anesthetist. The Lancer cited their nursing program, the relationships she was able to build with the coaching staff and their willingness to work around her academic responsibilities as the main reasons she chose to attend LHU.

“I feel like I chose a really good place to continue my basketball career. I actually had a full ride to go to St. Thomas Aquinas, but I feel like the Lock Haven pros just blew it past it,” Kriebel said. “We have a great relationship. This is probably the most important thing that motivated my decision. I feel like I can trust them and that they will take care of me. They were really, really accommodating and really showed they wanted me. So, I felt wanted and appreciated there.

“I am very grateful to have four more years after high school to continue doing what I love,” she added.

Before his commitment, Kriebel’s name was already etched in Lock Haven basketball history.

His father, Dean Kriebel, was one of 21 Bald Eagles to join the men’s basketball program’s 1,000-point club, finishing his career in 1990 as the program’s leading scorer with 1,582 points and still ranking 5th in the category. Her mother, Amy Kriebel, also concluded her career at Haven as a 1,000-point scorer, ranking fifth in program history with 1,343 career points.

Although Kriebel looks forward to continuing their legacy, his parents’ backgrounds with their respective programs did not factor into his decision to choose Lock Haven.

“When it came time to make my decision, neither of my parents pressured me. A lot of people said, “She’s going there because her parents went there.” But that wasn’t part of my decision at all,” Kriebel said. “After my commitment, it’s pretty nice to be able to carry on the legacy of both my parents, but it didn’t really influence my decision.”

In his three years of high school ball, two with South Williamsport and one with Loyalsock, Kriebel has already racked up considerable accolades.

As a junior, she surpassed 1,000 career points and enters her senior season with 1,082 career points, 433 rebounds, 156 assists and 240 steals. In doing so, she made the state team twice as a sophomore and junior, as well as the Sun-Gazette All-Star team in all three seasons.

She played a big role in helping South Williamsport reach the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals in 2022 and Loyalsock reach the Class AAA semifinals in 2023. And with one year remaining and her commitment up , she looks forward to helping the Lancers achieve more success through her senior season.

“It feels good to get involved. Now I can play without pressure and get wins, and I’m really excited for my senior season,” Kriebel said. “I think we have a very good team and I think we are going to have a very good season. So we’ll just build from that.