Post by gregcrow on Apr 22, 2020 16:23:11 GMT -5
Women's Basketball Announces Six Additions to Program
4/22/2020 | Women's Basketball
NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Iona College women's basketball head coach Billi Chambers announced the addition of six student-athletes to the program. Jenae Dublin, Thoranna Kika Hodge-Carr, Hannah King, Anouschka Meijer, Jessica Rogers and Olivia Vezaldenos all signed a National Letter of Intent to continue their careers at Iona College, joining Sydney Avoletta and Claudia Gomez, who signed in December.
JENAE DUBLIN
"Jenae is incredibly multi-talented. Her guard skills in a 6-2 frame will allow us to play her anywhere on the court," Chambers said. "She can do a bit of everything- scoring, rebounding and defending both on the perimeter and in the paint. Her skills are only outmatched by her competitive fire."
Dublin, a Suitland, Maryland native, played at Gwynn Park High School and played club basketball with Elevate Elite. She was named to the Prince George's Sentinel All-County Team after averaging 20.8 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game in her senior season at Gwynn Park. Prior to the 2019-20 season, Dublin was highlighted by The Washington Post as a "Player to Watch" in the state of Maryland.
THORANNA KIKA HODGE-CARR
"Kika brings an athleticism that rounds out our roster quite nicely. She has excelled in the Icelandic National Program, dominating her opponents with her strength and versatility," Chambers noted. "She is a savvy player offensively and a relentless defender who will ensure that we continue to commit to our defensive standard."
Hodge-Carr comes to Iona from Keflavík, Iceland, where she was selected to play with the Icelandic National Youth Team every year since 2014. In 2019, at the tournament in Montenegro, Hodge-Carr and Iceland placed second. She was a National Champion with the Keflavík women's team in 2017 and her squad added Cup championships in 2017 and 2018.
Hodge-Carr averaged 9.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals during the regular season with her club team in Keflavík during the 2019-20 campaign. Hodge-Carr's father played Division I collegiate basketball with Binghamton University.
Hannah King
"Hannah steps on campus immediately emphasizing our defensive culture. She led her team with 60+ charges taken last season and is fired up to bring that energy to our program," Chambers said. "Offensively, she provides us with a strong post presence and a skill set that stretches beyond the three-point line. She plays with a tremendous amount of passion and brings versatility to our team on both sides of the ball."
King joins the Maroon & Gold after two seasons with the College of Central Florida. In 2019-20, King played in all 34 games for the Patriots, making 30 starts. She averaged 9.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game across 23.2 minutes per contest. King reached double-digit points in 16 of her 34 games, scoring a career-best 16 in two games. On three different occasions she pulled down eight rebounds, a season-best mark for the Apopka, Florida native.
King was a second team selection in the Mid-Florida Conference as well as a NJCAA Academic All-American, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Business and Organizational Management.
ANOUSCHKA MEIJER
"Anoushcka is an exceptional point guard that knows how to take the reins of a very talented team," Chambers said. "As a member of the Netherlands National team, she has had the opportunity to be the 'coach on the floor' with other highly skilled players - making an impact by creating scoring opportunities for her teammates and herself."
Meijer hails from Amsterdam in The Netherlands and is a five-foot-nine guard. Meijer has played with a Dutch national team since turning 13 and played high school basketball at Caland Lyceum in Amsterdam.
In 2019-20, Meijer played with BC Utrecht Cangeroes in the women's Honor Division, the highest for senior players, and also competed at the FIBA EGBL International Tournament. A season prior, Meijer helped her squad to a NL Cup Championship. She has competed with the Dutch National Team in Copenhagen, Bourges, Lithuania and Macedonia.
JESSICA ROGERS
"Jessica will give us great size on the perimeter. At 6-1, her ability to shoot the three and play off the bounce will provide us with the opportunity to be more dynamic offensively - mixing and matching different lineups that will showcase our speed, size and athleticism," Chambers noted. "The best is yet to come for her, as our up-tempo, versatile style fits very well with the strengths of her game."
Rogers comes to New Rochelle after playing two seasons at the University of Rhode Island. She appeared in 36 career games, making three starts across her two seasons with the Rams. In her redshirt freshman season, Rogers scored a career-best 12 points on 3-8 shooting at Harvard. Last year, she had her best scoring effort of the season at St. Bonaventure, scoring 10 points on an efficient 4-7 FG, knocking down two shots from beyond the arc.
Rogers played scholastically at Rutherford High School in New Jersey, earning first team All-League honors three times. A two-sport athlete, Rogers became the first female in the school's history to register 1,000 points in basketball and 1,000 kills in volleyball.
OLIVIA VEZALDENOS
"Olivia comes to us from Concordia Portland where she played an integral role in the success of their program. She is mature beyond her years, with a high IQ and she can knock down a shot from anywhere on the court," Chambers added. "With Morgan Rachu graduating, she comes in with a mindset of being one of the next sharpshooters to put points on the board for us."
Vezaldenos comes to Iona with prior collegiate basketball experience, making stops at UC Irvine, Chabot College and Concordia. The Manteca, California native played high school basketball at East Union and club basketball with Club Breakdown.
Vezaldenos was First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-State and was named the Female Athlete of the Year in her lone season at Chabot College. At Concordia, Vezaldenos earned Second Team All-GNAC honors and was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. She averaged a team-high 16.0 points per game and was the single-season leader with 84 three-pointers made that season. Academically, she was named to the Department of Athletics' Honor Roll.
CHAMBERS ON NEWCOMERS
"This group of newcomers, in addition to our fall signees is a special class. They bring talent, athleticism, basketball IQ and most of all, high character." - head coach Billi Chambers on the addition of Dublin, Hodge-Carr, King, Meijer, Rogers and Vezaldenos to the Iona women's basketball program.
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