LAS CRUCES – New Mexico State head women’s basketball coach Darin Spence announced Monday morning that he has signed Camila Rosen, Christina Fletcher and Malia Magazzeni to National Letter’s of Intent to attend NMSU and play basketball for the Aggies beginning in the 2009-10 season.
All three players come from highly successful high school and club programs, which is something that Spence said will add a lot of value to his team.
“All three of them are first class people and good students,” Spence said. “They all come from really good high school and club teams, so they are well taught. They understand the sacrifices that need to be made in order to be a good player and play on a good team.”
The 6-2 Fletcher, a forward from Downers Grove, Ill., is the No. 66 ranked player at her position in the nation by ESPN’s HoopGurlz. Fletcher led her Montini High School team to a 27-5 record and a third-place finish in Class 3A last year. Fletcher plays for the Chicago Hoops Express Club Team.
Magazzeni, a 6-2 center from Queen Creek, Ariz., was an all-state selection as a junior after leading her Highland High School team to the Class 5A state title with a 33-3 record. She averaged a team-best 7.2 rebounds a game to go along with her 23 blocked shots and 31 steals on the year.
In the second round of the 2008 Arizona state playoffs, she scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds in the victory. Magazzeni plays club basketball for the Arizona Silver Streaks, who has four players that have earned Division I scholarships. She is ranked in the top 100 by the All-Star Girls Report for post players.
“Malia and Chrissy (Christina) gives us two athletic and rugged post players,” Spence said. “They are both very active, can run the floor well and bring a lot to the table.”
Rosen is a 6-1 guard from Berkeley, Calif., and averaged 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds a game as a junior for the Berkeley High School Yellow Jackets that made it to California’s Division I (big schools) state championship game. She was a 2008 second team All-Region selection by the Contra Costa Times and was named to the San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro Team. Rosen plays for the Bay Area Warriors club team.
“Camila gives us a long, athletic, bigger guard. She is a very skilled player that can drive the ball and does a good job rebounding.”
With the three signees, Spence has now filled up his 2009 recruiting class.
“It’s really nice to not only get three great players in, but also to be done with this year’s class. We’ve filled some holes from what we’ll lose after this season and if everything holds to form, we can get an early start looking at our 2009 class.”
Courtesy: Tim Barnett-Queen
