TicketsUC Inks Top 10 Recruiting Class
Contact: Geoff Wiswell
11/17/2004
Head coach Laurie Pirtle will welcome the top recruiting class in school history to UC next year. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio ? The University of Cincinnati?s women?s basketball team signed five high school seniors to national letters of intent at the start of the early signing period.
The class is ranked No. 10 in the country by Dan Olson of All-Star Girls Report.
?Obviously we are very excited,? said head coach Laurie Pirtle. ?These are really high-caliber players who will have an immediate impact here. Being ranked 10th in the nation speaks for itself. I think it is a reflection of the commitment to excellence here at UC with the move to the BIG EAST and the construction of Varsity Village.?
The class is headlined by Jill Stephens, a 6-3 center from Mineral Wells, W. Va. Stephens, whose sister Anne is a Bearcat junior, is ranked as the 44th best senior in the nation by Blue Star Basketball. She is a two-time first team all-state honoree and honorable mention All-American. Stephens averaged 22.4 points and 13 rebounds per game last year and was one of 48 players invited to the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival last summer.
The Bearcats also signed a local product in Michelle Jones of Mt. Notre Dame High School. The 6-1 power forward is ranked No. 93 in the nation by ASGR. She was named second team all-state last year after scoring 15.7 points per game.
Angel Morgan is a 5-8 guard from Springfield North High School in Ohio. She is ranked No. 95 in the nation by ASGR after being named all-county and all-conference for three years.
Kahla Roudebush is a 5-8 point guard from Noblesville, Ind. She attends Hamilton Southeastern High School where she earned honorable mention all-state from the Louisville Courier-Journal last year and was named to the Indiana Basketball Tremendous 26 Team. She is ranked No. 115 by ASGR and is a finalist for the 2005 Indiana Miss Basketball award.
Shelly Bellman is a 5-10 guard/forward from Ottawa-Glendorf High School who has twice been named an honorable mention All-American by Street and Smith?s and is ranked No. 121 nationally and one of the top 20 guards. She averaged 13 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.5 assists per game last year and was a member of the Dayton Lady Hoopstars team that placed second in the AAU nationals.