San Francisco basketball alumna and current Sport Management graduate student, Rachel Howard, has inked a contract to play professional basketball with Luxembourg's AB Contern.

Howard, who averaged 11.3 points per game over her career coming into the year, went on to lead the conference in scoring at over 18 points per contest en route to earning first team All-WCC honors and inserting her name among the all-time scorers in Dons history.

"We are very excited that Rachel has an opportunity to pursue her goal of competing as a professional women's basketball player," remarked USF head coach Molly Goodenbour. "She was playing some of the best basketball of her career at the end of the season, and I know she will continue to excel as a pro. This will be a great experience for her and she will make the most of it. It was fantastic to be able to be part of her college career and we look forward to following her pro career and supporting her endeavors."

Howard concluded her four years on the Hilltop in 10th place in program history with 1,345 career points, and stands as the 22nd USF player to reach the 1,000-point club. The Berkeley, Calif., native paced the WCC with a 46.4 percent clip from the perimeter in league games, while ranking third from three-point range overall (38.9), and Howard's 186 made three-pointers rates as second in program history.

Last season, AB Contern finished fourth in the league and upset third-ranked Basket Esch to advance to the Total League semifinals. With two foreign-born players allowed on a roster, Howard will be joined on the squad by Furman graduate Brittany Hodges who has spent time playing in Portugal and Australia since graduating in 2015.

"Signing a pro contract is a dream come true!" exclaimed the newest USF Don to rise to the professional ranks. "It is a surreal feeling to accomplish a goal I've had since I was a very young kid. I think USF has prepared me not only as a determined and knowledgeable athlete, but a well-rounded, multifaceted person as well. Both are essential in my mind to be successful as a pro athlete across the world and thousands of miles from home.

"I felt a lot of integrity from the coach and manager of the AB Contern club in Luxembourg and I am thrilled to go represent their city and country with them."

With the full sport of the department staff, Howard plans to put her studies on temporary hold while she pursues her hoops dreams with AB Contern. She is slated to depart in mid-August to begin training with her new team. While the upcoming schedule has not yet been released, the Total League is expected to begin play in October with the playoffs season concluding in May.

Look for more updates on Rachel's progress as further information becomes available.