Next season, the two Whatcom County standouts will be reunited as both have made verbal commitments to play for Western Washington University.

"I've known Liz for a long time," said Burt, a 5-foot-8 point guard from Bellingham and a Northwest League first-team all-league choice last season. "We've played against each other a lot, and I've known her away from basketball. I'm excited to get a chance to play with her. She's a great player."

"I called her after I committed to tell her," said McCarrell, a first-team, Associated Press Class 3A all-state pick last year at Ferndale. "It's going to be fun to play with her."

Oral commitments are non-binding, however both players say they will sign letters-of-intent on Thursday, the first day players can officially commit to schools.

In McCarrell, a 6-footer capable of playing both backcourt positions and small forward, the Vikings have signed one of the most talented players in the state. McCarrell is noted for her versatility and scoring ability. She was recruited heavily by Washington but the Huskies instead offered scholarships to two other players.

"It was disappointing but the bottom line was, I wanted to play college basketball," McCarrell said. "I knew that I wanted to go to Western for awhile. I went to my first game there when I was in fifth grade. And I wanted to stay in the state."

In Burt, Western gets perhaps the quickest player in the county. She's noted for her ability to push the ball upcourt and play solid defense. Burt said her choice came down to Western and Seattle Pacific, but the larger size and diversity of WWU appealed to her.

"It was a tough choice," she said. "One of my best friends is going to SPU, and I wanted to get away from home. But I took other factors into account and Western was the best choice for me. I wanted to make an early decision. It takes a lot of pressure off this coming season."

Last season, Western signed Nooksack Valley star Devin Dykstra. McCarrell and Burt both said that the fact that Sara Nichols took over the Viking program earlier this year when Carmen Dolfo took a one-year hiatus didn't play a roll in their decisions.

"They have a tradition of being strong, so it didn't matter who the coach was," McCarrell said. "They're always a good team."

"A lot of my dealings were with Sara," Burt added. "And Carmen is coming back next year anyway."

Both players said they like Western's fast-paced style of play. Both said they will come in and play as true freshmen rather than redshirt. Burt will play point guard and McCarrell will swing between shooting guard and small forward.