Women's Basketball inks two for 2008-09
11/14/2007 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2007
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois women's basketball head coach Dana Eikenberg and her staff sign two recruits from the state of Illinois for next season. Olivia Lett and Eryn Stepherson signed letters of intent to play for the Dawgs in 2008-09 Wednesday.
"Both are two top guards in the state from very good programs," Eikenberg said of her signing class. "We need size and found it in both of these talented guards. They play for great head coaches in Lori Blade and J.R. Boudouris who understand players at the Division I level."
Lett, a 5-11 guard from Pana, Ill., averaged 20.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game as a junior. She led her team to a 22-9 record last season already recording 1,774 career points, the most for boys or girls at Pana. Lett was named to the All-South Central Conference East Division Team, Associated Press Class A All-State first team, IBCA Class A All-State first team, Chicago Tribune Class A All-State special mention and Champaign News-Gazette All-State second team last season.
"Olivia will be a terrific scorer for us," Eikenberg said. " She is a big guard with high basketball IQ skills, a real bludcollar work ethic, a high level of intelligence and passion to play."
Stepherson, a 5-10 guard from Edwardsville, Ill., averaged 8.2 points and shot 81 percent from the free throw line last season. A member of the varsity team since her freshman year of high school, she earned third-team All-SWC honors as a junior. She was also named to BlueStar Basketball's Top 250 2008 Graduates List. Recruited for her quickness and athleticism, Stepherson was a member of Edwardsville's 4x400 relay that won the Class AA state championship last spring.
"Eryn has the ability immediately to be a great defensive asset," Eikenberg said. "She's long and athletic with the ability to lock down players and score from her defense. Her offensive game has great potential, but we recruited Eryn to be a defensive player first."
