Women's Basketball: WVU Inks Two Recruits
April 16, 2004 11:06 AM | General
April 16, 2004
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| Carey |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University women's basketball coach Mike Carey today announced the signing of two recruits for the 2004-05 season.
Giving the coach signatures were LaQuanda Brandon of Washington, D.C., and Jeriece Lee of Phoenix, Ariz.
Brandon, a 5-foot-10 senior at Paul Lawrence Dunbar Senior High is ranked the 48th-best player in the nation by All-Star Girl's Report, the nation's leading scouting service.
This year, Brandon averaged 17 points, six rebounds, six steals and four blocks for the Crimson Tide. As a junior, she averaged 19.0 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
As a senior she was named to the Washington Post DCIAA West first team and the 2004 winter All-Met honorable mention team. She was also a four-year captain at Dunbar, a 1,000-point scorer and competed at the adidas Top 10 All-American summer camp in 2003.
"I liked the atmosphere at West Virginia, the coaching staff and the BIG EAST conference is very competitive," Brandon says. "I also liked the psychology program because it's one of the very best in the country."
"LaQuanda has great size for a perimeter player and will create many options for us," Carey says. "She'll contribute greatly by being able to shoot the three and taking it off the dribble."
According to All-Star Girl's Report, Brandon is "an excellent player and will help out greatly at West Virginia. Her size makes her a very tough matchup on the perimeter."
Jeriece (first name pronounced jur-eece) Lee is a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward at Odessa Junior College in Odessa, Texas, and is ranked the fourth-best juco power forward by All-Star.
In her two seasons as a Lady Wrangler, Lee was a second team all-Western Junior College Athletic Conference performer in 2003-04 and was named the team's defensive player of the year.
Lee averaged eight points and seven rebounds and tallied career-bests of 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 94-89 victory over Weatherford College this past season.
In high school, she helped Mountain Point High to a Class 5A Arizona State basketball championship. A captain her senior season in high school, she was a two-time honorable mention all-East Valley performer in 2000-01 and 2001-02. During that time she was also an all-Arizona Prep Tournament team player and was named Mountain Point's defensive and most improved player of the year after her junior season.
"She's a tough kid," Odessa coach Timi Brown says of Lee. "Jeriece is very strong defensively and can rebound very well. She's sometimes undersized at the forward position but often guards 6-4, 6-5 players and does a great job. She has a great attitude, is a team leader and is the type of student-athlete that you love to have on your team."
"I"m very excited," Lee says. "I hope to bring a positive attitude and good leadership to WVU. I loved the coaching staff, the atmosphere and the team.
"Without defense you don't win games," Lee adds regarding her defensive prowess. "It's about who has the most heart and commitment."
"I'm very impressed with Jeriece's defensive abilities," Carey says. "She'll bang for us in the paint and she takes a lot of pride in rebounding and playing excellent defense."
All-Star Girl's Reports says "Jeriece is the Mike Carey-type of player. She's tall, long, athletic and plays great defense. She'll step in and be a great defensive stopper for West Virginia."
2004-05 West Virginia University Women's Basketball Recruits
Alberta Auguste, Fr., G/F, 5-11, Marrero, La., John Ehret
LaQuanda Brandon, Fr., G, 5-10, Washington, D.C., Dunbar
Chakhia Cole, Fr., G/F, 5-10, Marlboro, N.J., Marlboro
Kristin Heminger, Fr., G/F, 6-0, Merritt Island, Fla., Merritt
Jeriece Lee, Jr., F, 6-2, Phoenix, Ariz., Odessa JC
LaQuita Owens, Fr., G, 5-9, Charlotte, N.C., Myers Park
Olayinka Sanni, Fr., C, 6-2, Chicago Heights, Ill., Homewood-Flossmore
