Women's Recruiting: Loyola Adds Four

Here's another in the series looking at players joining conference programs for the coming season.

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LOYOLA WOMEN

- Naiesha Brown, 5-10 guar, Sanford School of Newark, Del.

She averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this past season.

Brown helped lead the New York Gauchos to an Albany GymRat Challenge AAU tournament title in May, 2010. Your hoopscribe saw her play several games, and was particularly impressed with her long-range shooting ability an overall versatility. However, she is a very slender perimeter player and probably needs to add some strength to her game to be a consistent contributor.

- Kara Marshall, 5-8 point guard, Gaithersburg (Md.) High School.

She averaged 13.2 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals per game this past season.

Reports indicate that she led her high school team in scoring and assists for four consecutive seasons. She is said to be an extremely quick guard who id most of her scoring in transition.

Cierra Darden, 6-2 center, Grace Christian Academy of Hughesville, md.

She averaged 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game this past season. Reports indicate that she is a lanky, athletic inside player.

- Stephanie Smith, 6-0 forward, Mount Saint Joseph's Academy, Lower Gwynedd, Pa.

She averaged 12.8 points per game this past season and finished her career with 1,129 points and more than 700 rebounds.

ANALYSIS: Marshall appears to be the top incoming player, although the point guard spot was more than capably filled this past season by junior-to-be Katie Sheahin. But, Sheahin could move over to the off-guard spot if Marshall is ready to contribute. The Greyhounds also appeared to bring in some potential answers to its vertically-challenged team of a year ago, primarily with the 6-2 Darden, but both Smith and, even, Brown have enough height and rebounding skills to help out. The incoming group appears strong. Loyola was the MAAC's second-best team last season and this year's recruits should help keep it near the top of the MAAC standings for the foreseeable future.