Nov. 12, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State women's basketball head coach Coquese Washington announced today that she has signed three players to the 2009 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 7 by Blue Star Basketball and No. 13 by the All Star Girls Report. Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis), Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif./The Bishop's School) and Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa./Ford City) all signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) today and will start their Lady Lion careers in 2009-10.
"I am really excited about this class. They are all going to be impact players for this program," Washington said. "They, as a class, filled out our needs, going forward. We certainly got bigger, in terms of size, and we also got some speed and quickness at all positions. We are really excited about what kind of impact all these players can have on our program."
Bentley, the 47th-ranked player by Blue Star Basketball, led Ben Davis High School to a 24-2 record and an appearance in the state regionals. The 5-7 point guard earned first team All-State accolades after averaging 15.1 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals per game in 2007-08. Bentley is a three-time All-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference and was an Indiana Junior All-Star last year. She ranks fifth in school history with 1,079 career points and has also registered 187 steals. The Giants enter the 2008-09 season as the top-ranked team in Indiana according to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll and are #19 in the ESPN RISE Girls' Basketball FAB 50 preseason rankings.
"Alex Bentley is just a phenomenal point guard," Washington said. "She is the whole package; she can score, she can defend, she can pass, she can shoot the three and she probably has the best pull-up jumper of anybody that I have seen in the country. She has a knack for the stop-and-pop shot. I am excited about her ability to both score and create opportunities for her teammates."
Studevent, the 64th-ranked player by Blue Star Basketball, averaged 18.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in 2007-08 en route to CalHiSports.com All-State honors. The 5-11 guard led The Bishop's School to a 21-10 record and the Coastal South League title. Studevent also tied the national high school record last season with seven three-pointers in a playoff loss to St. Mary's Academy, finishing the game with 32 points.
"Many people out West have compared Gizelle to Manu Ginobili (of the San Antonio Spurs)," Washington said. "She is like the Energizer Bunny, she just runs, runs, runs all day. She is a phenomenal shooter, she's got a great outside shot and she works really hard. Anytime there is action around the ball, Gizelle is involved with it. She has a good handle and she brings a lot of toughness to that (wing) position. I am excited about her coming to the team."
Wolfe, a 6-3 post player from Ford City High School, was the 2008 Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year and was also a third team All-State selection as she led Ford City to a 21-8 record and an appearance in the PIAA state playoffs. The three-time All-State selection averaged 16.8 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior while being named as the team's Best All Around Player. Wolfe has accumulated 1,124 career points and 642 rebounds at Ford City. She also earned Leader Times Player of the Year accolades in 2007 and was a member of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review "Fab Five" each of the last two seasons. In addition to her All-State honors in 2008, Wolfe was a second team All-State choice in 2007 and a third team All-State recipient as freshman in 2006.
"Marisa is probably going to be the surprise kid in the class," Washington said. "She is just an extremely skilled big girl, she can shoot the three and she is tough. She has the tenacity that is going to elevate our post game, along with great skill. She is a ferocious and intense rebounder. She is going to prevent people from double-teaming down in the low block because she can do some much from the high post in terms of shooting and passing. She is going to be a very versatile player for us."
The Lady Lions being the 2008-09 campaign with a three-game homestand against South Carolina (Sun., Nov. 16), Stony Brook (Wed., Nov. 19) and Prairie View A&M (Fri., Nov. 21). Football season ticket holders have a great deal available to them during the Indiana Football weekend (Nov. 14-16). They can show their football game ticket at the Bryce Jordan Center box office and receive a buy one, get one free deal for either basketball opener that weekend. The Nittany Lions open their season Friday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m. vs. William and Mary and the Lady Lions open their season two days later when they host South Carolina at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 16. It's a tremendous offer and a great way for football fans to fully enjoy a loaded weekend of Penn State Athletics! For information on Lady Lion Basketball tickets, call the Penn State ticket office at 814-865-5555.
The 2009 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State proudly supported by Mimi Barash Coppersmith (formerly known as THINK PINK Day) will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Iowa in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first two Pink Zone events have raised more than $50,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Breast Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.