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The former Sandusky High and St. Clair County Community College standout has accepted a substantial scholarship offer to play basketball for Spring Arbor, located in southern Michigan.

Maier, a strongly built, 6' post player, earned All-NJCAA Division II Regional honors, along with All-MCCAA and All-Eastern Conference this past season at SC4. She averaged 12 points and nine rebounds a game and shot better than 48% from the floor for the Lady Skippers.

She is anxious to move to forward to Spring Arbor, and her new coach is anxious to have her there.

"I'm really excited," earnestly remarked Maier. "I knew after SC that I wanted to be somewhere and this came around (in April). Better late than never, I guess.."

Coach Tara Kreklau, who just completed her first season at Spring Arbor, is ready to add Maier to a young team.

"Stacie definitely fits a need we lack. We needed a power presence to play the low post," said Kreklau. "She has great hands, good quick feet, she's a great inside scorer, and excellent passer, and sees the floor well. I even think she can step out and shoot that 12-15 footer, too. I anticipate she'll step right in and be a significant contributor from day one."

Maier said she is intending to get a degree in special education, another factor why she chose Spring Arbor, located just west of Jackson. She also liked the smaller campus feel, and, she noted, "I really like the coach, she reminds me of my mom, and I like that. I also scrimmaged with the team. They all seemed nice and all said they wanted me here. So, this was probably the best choice for me."

Carrie Lohr, Maier's coach at SC4 the last two seasons, has seen her gifted post player grow as a player and a person.

"She's probably in the best shape of her life right now," remarked Lohr. "She was always a hard worker before, but from her freshman to her sophomore year, she's elevated that.

"As a freshmen she was somewhat passive, but this year she was a team captain and a true leader on and off the floor." Lohr continued, "She's a great student and really worked hard in the off-season. She was a great player for us and the kind of ambassador for our program that I want."

Coach Kreklau believes Maier will help her team be better in a good conference. The Lady Cougars (8-21 overall) were 5-11 in the Mid State Central Conference this last season with a roster of just one senior, who played little due to an injury. Spring Arbor is the lone Michigan college in the conference. The rest of the universities are located in Indiana. Kreklau added, "This is widely considered as the top women's conference in NAIA Division II. We had four teams in the national tournament and Indiana Wesleyan, from our conference, was the national champion."

Maier was brimming with eagerness on the challenge ahead. "There's great competition in the league, and I like that." She also said, "I know I'm going to play and contribute right away. That's the one reason I went to St. Clair. I'm not one who wants to sit on the bench."

Kreklau, meanwhile, cannot wait to get her on campus. "She still has a lot more room for growth. She has a great passion for the game....and I think she'll be a great fit for our program."