The men’s and women’s basketball programs signed players early and often during this year’s early signing period, which ended on Wednesday.

Women’s coach June Olkowski announced Wednesday that she signed four players to National Letters of Intent during the period.

Men’s coach Bill Carmody signed a player from Peoria, Ill., on Nov. 13 and another from Chicago on Wednesday.

The men’s program signed 6-foot-1 guard Brandon Lee last week, on the second day of the weeklong November signing period. Carmody called Lee, who is a senior at Peoria Central High School, “a solid all-around player.”

The men’s team also inked Chicago native Sterling Williams, a senior at Whitney Young High School. Williams is the first Chicago Public League player to sign with the Cats since 1979.

Chicago-based recruiting analysts called Young one of the most overlooked seniors in Illinois earlier this year.

Three of the four players who will join the women’s team next season are from the Midwest, and the fourth hails from Turkey.

“My staff and I couldn’t have asked for a better fit for the future of Northwestern women’s basketball,” Olkowski said in a press release. “All four are in tune with what we are trying to accomplish as a team from the offensive scheme to the defensive work ethic. They fit every aspect of a successful Northwestern student-athlete.”

Forward Kelly Rae Finley and guard Melissa Miller currently attend the same high school in Minneapolis and have been teammates since the seventh grade.

“Kelly has great range and is a perimeter player, Olkowski said. “Melissa is known for her rebounding and she’s a physical player. Each has had success personally in basketball and are members of a winning team, something that can’t be underestimated. Both are very skilled and fit into the scheme of our program perfectly, both academically and athletically.”

The pair is coached by Finley’s father at Breck School in Minneapolis.

Sara Stutz, who Olkowski said “can literally play any position,” is from nearby Glenview South High School in Glenview, Ill.

Turkish National Team member Nazli Senol becomes the third international player to join the squad in two years. Freshmen A.J. Glauser and Alex Mueller are both from Germany.

“Nazli comes from a basketball family where both parents played pro ball and for the Turkish National Team,” Olkowski said. “She faces the basket well, has great three-point range, and is a good passer. Most importantly, she’s a hard worker and a bright student-athlete.”