Hilo High senior Vicky Tagalicod — regarded as the most heavily recruited girls basketball player in Big Island history — said she planned to sign a national letter of intent with the University of Southern California last night.

Tagalicod, a 5-foot-9 guard, made an official visit to USC's campus last weekend and gave the Trojans a verbal commitment Thursday.

She turned down offers from Gonzaga and Nevada-Las Vegas, among others.

"It was a hard decision, because it was up-and-up between USC and Gonzaga," Tagalicod said. "But I just came back from USC and I loved the campus, and the girls were awesome."

Despite major injuries and not playing in any state tournament, Tagalicod has been an Advertiser All-State second-team selection the past three years. She underwent knee surgery after a season-ending injury in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation tournament in February and has not yet rejoined the Hilo High team.

Tagalicod told The Advertiser yesterday her knee "is doing good," but she is not planning on returning to action anytime soon.

"I might play (this season), but it depends," Tagalicod said.

After bursting onto the BIIF basketball scene as a freshman, Tagalicod was one of 12 players selected to "Team Aloha," a Hawai'i all-star squad that won a club tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif., in September 2006. She suffered a broken foot at the end of that tournament, but her performance up to that point caught the attention of the California Storm, which lost to Team Aloha in the championship game.

In the summer of 2007, Storm coach George Quintero invited Tagalicod to join the team at the Nike Nationals in South Carolina, where she attracted the attention of dozens of college recruiters.

Tagalicod said USC projects her to play either guard position.

"I think I'll mostly play the '1' (point guard)," she said. "They said they need someone to get to the basket."

Tagalicod said she still needs a qualifying score on either the SAT or ACT, but plans to take the SAT in January and will take the ACT after that, if necessary.

In other basketball recruiting news, Punahou point guard Janelle Nomura and Kalani post player Violet Alama have committed to play for Cal State Northridge. Alama's mother said her daughter signed a letter with the Matadors, and Nomura's mother said her daughter probably will sign Monday.

Also, Waiakea guard Kanisha Bello is headed to Idaho.

VOLLEYBALL SIGNINGS

Kamehameha volleyball players Caitlin Andrade and Alex Akana, who helped the Warriors win their fourth straight state title Nov. 8, each signed a national letter of intent yesterday to play for San Jose State.

Andrade, a setter, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Akana, a middle blocker, was named to the All-Tournament team.

Punahou's Anuhea Keanini (Cal Poly), Courtney Lelepali (Southern Utah) and Pihana Kea (Pacific, Calif.) plan to sign their letters Monday, along with boys player Maddison McKibbin (USC).

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.