Peelman, a 5-foot-6 guard from Twinsburg, Ohio, helped Twinsburg High School to a pair of Northeast Ohio Conference championships as a junior and senior as well as a district title her senior year when she averaged 4.7 points. A three-year varsity letterwinner, she was an All-Conference First Team selection as a junior and was part of the team that set a single-season school record by scoring 93 points in a game during the 2005-2006 season. Over her final two high school seasons, her team posted a 40-6 overall record.

"Rachel will be a solid addition to our team as she brings a lot of great qualities besides her basketball skills,” said MVNU coach Steve Gregory. "She has done well scholastically, she is Christ-centered, and she understands how important her faith is and wants to be at a Christian college.”

"Rachel brings a wealth of basketball experience from a very good basketball program at Twinsburg,” Gregory added. "They have enjoyed tremendous success this year and she was a big reason they did so well. She is a very good defender who was counted on to shut down whoever she was guarding. She did not have to be a big-time scorer as her team was full of scorers. She played a role very well and I expect her to come in and compete right away with the rest of our guards.”

"Rachel does a lot of things well and I look forward to being able to utilize the skills that she possesses,” continued Gregory. "I am excited about getting a player of her caliber as we look to build on the foundation that was laid last season by a seasoned group of players.”

In addition to playing basketball at Twinsburg, Peelman was on the honor roll and the merit roll all four years at Twinsburg.

"I want to go to Mount Vernon because I feel that it is the best place for me to further my education,” said Peelman of her college choice. "I think the idea of a small-town environment will help me become comfortable and make it easier to adjust to my first year of college.”

MVNU finished the 2008-2009 season with a 27-9 overall record - the best in school history - as the Lady Cougars captured their third National Christian College Athletic Association national title and also finished as the American Mideast Conference Tournament runner-up.