Shar'Rae Davis - we had identified earlier.
Lowellville's Taylor Hvisdak is a preferred walk-on
Latish Walker, a transfer from Xavier.
http://www.ysusports.com/sports/wbkb/2011-12/releases/spring-signees-0611Youngstown-- Guards Shar’Rae Davis and Taylor Hvisdak and center Latisha Walker have committed to join the Youngstown State University women’s basketball program for the 2012-13 academic year, Penguins head coach Bob Boldon announced.
Davis (Grand Haven, Mich.) and Hvisdak (Lowellville, Ohio) will be true freshmen while Walker (Cleveland, Ohio) will be a junior. Walker played the previous two seasons at Xavier and will have to sit out the 2012-13 season to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements. She will have two years of eligibility remaining, starting in 2013-14.
“My staff and I are thrilled to add these three young ladies to the group we signed in the fall,” Boldon said. “Our staff worked very hard to not only bring in skilled basketball players, but also young ladies who have a lot of character. We’re excited to get them on campus and start working with them as we prepare for our trip to Toronto and Montreal this summer.”
The three additions brings the 2012-13 team to 14 members, half of which will be newcomers. One of the returners, Ashley Lawson, redshirted last season as she recovered from a shoulder injury. YSU still has two scholarships remaining, but Boldon said one or both of those could be saved for the class of 2013.
Davis, a 5-foot 8-inch guard, earned first-team all-state honors at Class A as both a junior and senior playing for coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer. As a senior she averaged 9.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists as a senior in leading Grand Haven High to the state title and a 27-1 record. Her 142 assists set the school’s single-season record. Davis scored 19 points and hit the game-winning basket with nine seconds left in the state championship game. She had 10 points in the final eight minutes to help Grand Haven overcome an 18-point deficit. The Buccaneers also went to the state finals her junior year. She played at Allendale her first two years of high school.
“Shar’Rae is a dynamic point guard who is a proven winner,” Boldon said. “She was an important part of a state championship team that competed among the biggest schools in the state. She does a great job controlling the game. She is able to get other players involved, but she understands the game well enough to know when she must score herself.”
Hvisdak was part of a senior class at Lowellville High that won a total of 81 games and advanced to regionals for four straight seasons. She surpassed 1,000 career points her senior year and was named First-Team All-Inter-Tri County League, Second-Team All-Northeast Inland District and Honorable Mention All-Ohio. The Rockets were 22-3 in 2011-12 under coach Tony Matisi. Hvisdak will be a preferred walk-on for YSU.
“Taylor brings a great deal of both individual success and team success to our program,” Boldon said. “She also brings a tough mentality and has shown that she will work through adversity. She will add depth and competition to the point guard position.”
Walker was a two-time First-Team All-Ohio selection and a three-time all-league pick at Division IV Lutheran East High in Cleveland. As a senior in 2009-10, the 6-foot-2 center XClaveraged 14 points, 13 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, two assists and one steal while shooting 59 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free-throw line. Her numbers were even better her junior year when she averaged 18 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks and two assists. She was ranked No. 33 among centers by ESPNU/Hoopgurlz and No. 178 overall by the All-Star Girls Report coming out of high school. She played in seven games in two years at Xavier, scoring eight points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
“We were the worst rebounding team in the Horizon League last year, and Tish will immediately help fill that void once she’s able to play,” Boldon said. “She is a proven low post scorer and a fantastic rebounder. She has expressed an interest in developing her perimeter game, and we will use next season to help her become more efficient facing the basket.”
