| Head coach Rene Portland announced the signing of three post player for the 2007-08 season. The Lady Lions' recruiting class is ranked 21st nationally. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 9, 2006 ?? Penn State head women??s basketball coach Rene Portland announced today that the team has signed three post players for the 2007-08 season. Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.), Julia Trogele (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.) all signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) Wednesday, the first day that high school seniors are allowed to sign. The recruiting class is ranked 21st nationally by Blue Star Basketball.
??We are very excited about this recruiting class,?? Portland said. ??With two post players graduating this year, this class fills a very important need for us.??
Lewis, the 34th-ranked player by Blue Star Basketball and 29th-ranked forward by scout.com, joins the Lady Lions out of Hampton High School, where she led the Crabbers to the Peninsula District Championship each of the last three years. The 6-3 forward/center was an honorable mention All-State choice a year ago after averaging 16.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. Lewis also competed for one of the top AAU teams in the country, Boo Williams Summer League, where she averaged 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
??Evelyn is a typical Penn State post player. She is lean, quick, fluid with both hands and can give us some dimensions on the low-post and the high-post,?? Portland says of Lewis. ??She will give us a dimension that makes it difficult to defend us because of her speed and because she is so agile around the basket. ??
Trogele, a 6-2 forward, will be the first player to sign at Penn State from Portland??s high school alma mater, Villa Maria Academy. An honor roll student, Trogele was a third team All-State selection last season in leading Villa Maria to the league and district titles, as well as a quarterfinal berth in the state tournament. Trogele averaged 16.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game with a .474 field goal percentage.
??Julia is someone that we are very, very excited about. She is a high-post player that is a guard disguised in a giant body,?? Portland says. ??We have had great success in the past with players like that and I think she is way ahead of them already. She will give us incredible flexibility. She is a very difficult player for our opponents to match up against because of her size and her agility and because she is such a great shooter and scorer.
Wolff is a 6-3 forward out of Park Rapids High School in Minnesota where she is a three-time All-Conference selection and was the 2005-06 Conference MVP. Wolff, the 44th-ranked recruit by scout.com, was also the 3A Player of the Year and a second-team Associated Press All-State choice last season. She averaged 25.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds per game and posted 23 double-doubles in 27 games a year ago. Wolff is an honor student and a standout volleyball and softball player at Park Rapids.
??We are very, very thrilled to have Janessa commit to us. It says great things about Penn State??s presence in the Big Ten when we can bring in a Minnesota great here to Penn State,?? Portland says. ??The first time we saw her, she had a presence about her that will help solidify the low-post presence that we have been looking for. She runs the floor incredibly well. She can do a lot of things on the low block. She is physical and agile. She fits the definition of the low-post player that we have been looking for.??
The Lady Lions open their season at Drexel on Friday, November 10 at 7 p.m. before coming home for a three-game stretch beginning on Sunday, November 12 against Syracuse at 2 p.m. Single-game tickets for Lady Lions may be purchased by visiting the ticket section of GoPSUsports.com or by calling the ticket office at 814-865-5555. Women's single game tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students and youth (under 18). Mini ticket plans are also available.