| Evelyn Lewis (courtesy of The Daily Press) |
| Julia Trogele |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; June 25, 2007 ?? Virginia??s Evelyn Lewis (Hampton, Va.), Pennsylvania??s Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.) and Minnesota??s Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.), who will don the blue and white of the Penn State Lady Lions, have recently completed their outstanding prep careers. Highlighting the list of accomplishments of this trio is the selection of Wolff as the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as All-State accolades for Trogele (first team) and Lewis (second team).
Wolff, a 6-3 post player out of Park Rapids High School in Minnesota, finished her prep career as Park Rapids?? all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points (20.0 ppg), as well as the school??s career rebounding leader with 1,366 caroms (12.6 rpg). Wolff is seventh among 2007 post prospects and the 44th-ranked player overall by scout.com. The four-time Mid-State All-Conference selection also accumulated 362 blocks in her career. In addition to her selection as Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year, Wolff was a first team All-State selection, a member of the 3A All Star team, a candidate for the McDonald??s All-America Team and a Minnesota Miss Basketball finalist during her senior season. As a junior, she was the Minnesota Basketball News 3A Player of the Year, as well as the Fargo Forum Player of the Year.
??Janessa has had an outstanding high school basketball career and we expect that to continue here at Penn State.?? first-year head coach Coquese Washington said. ??She has a tremendous work ethic and is a very intelligent player. We believe she has an opportunity to help fill the void left with the departure of Amanda Brown.??
Trogele, a 6-2 guard/post player out of Villa Maria Academy in the Philadelphia-area, finished her career with 1,325 points (16.9 ppg) and led the Villa Maria Academy Hurricane to the PIAA State Championship game at the Bryce Jordan Center. She garnered Player of the Year honors from the Main Line Times and the Daily Local in 2006-07 and was a first team All-State selection this season after a third team All-State appearance last year. A native of Berlin, Germany, Trogele was a two-time Conference MVP and was a third team Southeastern Pennsylvania Girls?? Basketball team recipient, as chosen by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Trogele is a member of the AAU??s Lady Running Rebels, leading the team to a 61-4 record and a Sweet 16 berth in the national tournament during her time with the team.
??Julia will bring some versatility to our program,?? Washington said. ??She has the ability to play a number of positions and that will give us a lot of flexibility in terms of lineups that we can play. She has a pretty good face-up game from the forward position but is equally adept at mixing it up inside. I??m really excited about what Julia brings to the table.??
Lewis, a 6-3 post player, comes to Penn State after leading the Hampton Crabbers to the State Championship and a #9 national ranking last season. She finished her career with 1,560 points (18.4 ppg) and 620 rebounds (7.0 rpg) en route to second team All-State honors. Lewis, who is 29th-ranked forward by scout.com, was the 2006-07 Daily Press Player of the Year and garnered Street & Smith honorable mention All-America honors. Lewis has had a very successful AAU career as a member of the Boo Williams Summer League, winning the End of the Oregon Trail Tournament, as well as two Boo Williams Invitational titles and a runner-up showing at the Nike Nationals. Lewis was also a successful member of the Hampton track & field team as she won the district championship in the high jump in 2005-06.
??Simply put, Evelyn is a tremendous athlete,?? Washington said. ??She is quick up and down the floor and really gets after it on the boards. And she??s a winner, which can never be underestimated. Evelyn and Janessa have very complementary styles of play; the two of them together should really give us solid post play from our freshman class.??
The Lady Lions open the 2007-08 season as they host the WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic at the Bryce Jordan Center November 9-11. Penn State will face Arizona on Nov. 9, before meeting Charlotte (Nov. 10) and in-state rival Pittsburgh (Nov. 11).