PEORIA, Ill. ? Eighth-year Bradley women's basketball head coach Paula Buscher received some good news during the first few days of the Fall signing period, receiving National Letters of Intent from 6-3 center Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County), forward MacKenzie Westcott (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg), and guards Michelle Lund (Sioux City, Iowa/Bishop Heelan) and Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins).

Kassing enters her final prep season as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Brown County High School. Last season she earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Associated Press for the second consecutive year after averaging 22 points and 14.1 rebounds per game. Kassing was named second-team all-state as a junior by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. As a sophomore she averaged 20 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. She earned first-team all-area honors from the Jacksonville Courier and the Quincy Herald Whig.

"Leah is a strong post player with scoring ability," Buscher said. "She has great hands and a nice touch around the basket. She is a true post player and will add much needed size to our team."

"Leah is a joy to work with, good kid, good family, she has worked hard on her game and I cannot say enough good things about her," Brown County head coach Eric Grady said.

Also adding height to the Braves roster next year will be Westcott. A 6-0 forward, she averaged 16.5 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game last year as a junior. Westcott earned second-team 3A all-state honors in 2006-07 from the Iowa Newspaper Association. She set the Williamsburg High School season scoring record with 396 points last year as a junior and also holds the school marks for rebounds in a season (234) and rebounds in a game (18) in addition to owning the career (92) and single season (47) records for blocks. Westcott was a unanimous all-conference selection and earned All-Area honors from the Iowa City Press Citizen in addition to all-district honors.

"She is a quality player and person," Buscher added. "She is a versatile player who can play on the wing or down low. MacKenzie is a good ballhandler and able to score from the outside, in addition to being able to battle inside."

"She has flown under the radar here in Iowa," Williamsburg head coach Aaron Fedderson said. "I think there are going to be a lot of other schools in the Midwest, especially here in the state, regretting they didn't show more interest. "

A high-scoring guard, Lund averaged 20 points and four assists per game last year, helping Bishop Heelan advance to the state tournament. She earned first-team Class 3A all-state honors from the Des Moines Register. A three-time all-conference pick and two-team All-District selection, Lund was named a second-team Class 3A all-state selection both her sophomore and junior years by the Iowa Newspaper Association. She enters her final season needing 200 points to become Bishop Heelan's all-time leading scorer.

"Michelle is going to be a tremendous guard in our league," Buscher said "She has great scoring ability, understands the game and has benefited from playing in a strong AAU program with Jim & Janie McClurkin (NE Elite) as well as being coached by one of the best High School coaches in the state Doug Moody. Michelle obviously has the ability to score from deep as well as attacking the basket and is willing to do whatever it takes to help her team be successful."

"Michelle is one of the hardest working athletes, male or female, that I have been around in my entire coaching career," Bishop Heelan head coach Doug Moody said. "She continually strives for perfection by spending endless hours working on her basketball skills. She has been able to balance her basketball workouts with her school work which allowed her to become a member of the National Honor Society. Michelle is truly the epitome of a Student-Athlete. Bradley University is getting, not only a very good basketball player, but a quality young lady."

A native of Germany, Muegge has lived in Hopkins, Minn., the past three years and will be one of three players on the roster from the state of Minnesota on the 2008-09 roster. A two-sport star, the 5-8 guard averaged 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season as a junior. The team captain this season, she was an all-conference pick each of the last two years and helped Hopkins to a 4A state championship in 2005-06. Muegge claimed the state high jump championship in track last year in addition to finishing fourth in the triple jump, fifth in the long jump and third in the 4x100 relay at the state championship.

"Hanna is An athletic guard with a relentless work ethic," Buscher stated. "She has played at such a high level both on her high school team at Hopkins and her AAU (Minnesota Metro Stars) in the summer. Hanna knows how to win and will put in the work to improve her play in addition to pushing her teammates to be successful."

"Hanna is one of the toughest most dedicated athletes I have had the chance to work with," Hopkins head coach Brian Cosgriff said. "She is tremendously athletic and incredibly fearless. Bradley University is not only getting a great basketball player, but an excellent student as well. She will be a wonderful asset to the Bradley University community."