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Followers of Altoona Mirror girls basketball player of the year Alli Williams won't have far to travel if they want to watch her collegiate career.

The Bishop Guilfoyle senior-to-be has verbally committed to play for the Division I St. Francis women's basketball team in 2010.

"A lot of time and thought went into it," Williams said. "It's been a long process, and I just really took the last couple weeks and thought about it and came up with St. Francis."

Williams said her decision came down to St. Francis or Philadelphia-based St. Joe's.

"St. Francis is close to friends and family," Williams said. "A lot of my friends and family can come and stay in touch, and [St. Francis] has a pretty good physical therapy program, and I think that's what I want to do."

Bishop Guilfoyle has won two state championships in Williams' three years on the team.

"I think it's a great choice for Alli and a great choice for St. Francis," Bishop Guilfoyle girls basketball coach Mark Moschella said. "It's going to give a lot of the local people who enjoy seeing Alli play a chance to get up there to St. Francis and follow her career."

The Red Flash program was greatly improved this past season under second-year coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl. St. Francis went 15-17 and made it to the Northeast Conference championship game before losing to Sacred Heart.

"[Robinson Fruchtl] is really turning the program around up there," Williams said. "It's really getting to be a good thing up there."

Williams, AP's Class A player of the year, said she has spoken with Robinson Fruchtl and was told she'd be playing small forward and have a good chance to see playing time her freshman year.

She is the first player under Moschella's reign at Bishop Guilfoyle to go to a Division I school.

"She's the only Division I player that I've had a chance to coach," Moschella said. "Based on that and all the recruiting that has been done the past couple years, Alli has to be one of the top players to ever come out of our program."

Another factor in Williams' choice was that her sister, Dani, currently attends St. Francis and competes on the track and field team. Dani will be a senior when Alli arrives in 2010.

"[Dani being at SFU] played a pretty big role," Alli Williams said. "She really likes it up there and thinks it's a pretty good school so just to be up there with her would be pretty cool."

As for her high school career, Williams' early commitment will not change how she approaches her senior season - though she may skip playing soccer in the fall to avoid injury.

"Alli knows the standards that we have in our program, and she's done an outstanding job since her freshman year," Moschella said. "Hopefully we can enjoy a lot of success in the upcoming season."