Meet the Transfers

Oct 15, 2019

University of La Verne Head Women's Basketball Coach Jason Pruitt announced the addition of 15 transfers to the 2019-20 Leopard squad.

"We are very excited about our recruiting class," Pruitt said who is entering his third year at La Verne. "Coach Tia Scott and Coach Mike Walker did a great job of evaluating and building relationships with these student-athletes, and we are all very excited they chose to join the Leopard, basketball family. We really like the recruiting class we're bringing in this year. Most importantly these young ladies are all really good students and people that come from great families who we have been great supporters of their daughters on and off the court. We have a really nice mix of young ladies who played on really good high school teams, AAU programs, and community college basketball.

"All the transfers come from excellent junior college programs with tremendous coaches and they are all used to competing. Last season's recruits helped establish the competitive culture for our basketball program and I'm looking forward to seeing where this recruiting class along with our returners can take us in the future."

Last Season Gill averaged 8.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds. She is 56-8 in her two years at the College of Sequoias. Gill was named to the all-tournament team at the 42nd annual Gilcrest Invitational, which boasted 10 teams ranked among the top-15 in either Northern or Southern California. In her CCCAA career, her teams finished with an overall record of 56-8.

Coach Pruitt on Gill: "Dejanee is very skilled and has a great feel for the game. She has the ability to play multiple positions offensively and due to her athleticism and size, she can guard all three perimeter positions on defense. I think she'll be able to come in and impact our program right away."

Last season Pauling made the first team conference honors for the second-straight year. The six-foot sophomore point guard ranked fourth in WSC North scoring (17.5), sixth in rebounding (7.6), and sixth in assists (3.4). She led the conference in free-throw shooting, making 81.8 percent of her attempts.

Pauling averaged 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds on the season with a career-high 31 points versus Mira Costa and a rebounding high of 14 against De Anza.

Coach Pruitt on Pauling: "Pauling is a skilled point-forward that can score from anywhere inside the arc but can also step outside and knock down the three-point shot. Her size makes her a big presence in the middle of the lane both defensively and on the boards. Corey has a unique skill set for his size. At 6'0", her ability to ball handle, rebound, shoot and play inside and outside gives us a lot of options offensively and defensively.

As a sophomore, Garcia averaged 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game for the Bulldogs. Garcia played a key role in Hancock's 17-win season that included the program's first Southern California Regional playoff berth in more than a decade. As a freshman, Garcia averaged 8.3 points, a team-high 7.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. During her Hancock career, Garcia recorded 10 double-doubles.

Coach Pruitt on Garcia: "Garcia has a high basketball IQ and she finds ways to make big plays on both ends of the floor to help her team win. She is a very versatile player that can play all over the floor on offense, while also being able to guard multiple positions on defense."

"Getting a double-double is something I strive for, but it's not in my head the entire game," Rubio said. "I just try to do better than I did the game before and focus on correcting my errors and helping my team."

Coach Pruitt on Rubio: Kayla is a very strong and physical player that is very active on the boards. She is the third player that I have recruited from Arizona Western College in 7 years. I know what we are getting from the level of competition they play. She is a very hard worker and will be a physical force inside."

Last season Nichols averaged 11 points per game and 8.5 rebounds. She scored in double figures in 18 out of 26 games. She also had double digit rebounds in 8 games, with three games with 15 or more boards.

Coach Pruitt on Nichols: "Mary is a very good offensive player that can score in a variety of ways. She is highly skilled and has great footwork in the post area. Which allows her to score over and around many defenders. She also does a nice job of chasing down rebounds."

Last season Horn was named an All-Golden Valley Conference honorable mention with 10.5 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per game. Horn provided an outside shooting threat during her time at Butte, averaging at least two makes per game this past season, and plans to play a similar role for the Leopards.

Coach Pruitt on Horn: "Rebecca is a very strong and intelligent basketball player that can play either wing positions well. She takes care of the ball and is a good shooter from both the mid and three-point range."

In two seasons at Mission College, Hotchkiss averaged 10.7 points per game while connecting on 145 three-point shots. She was Second-Team All-Coast Conference in 2018-19 for the conference champions. Hotchkiss ranked fifth in the Coast Conference with a 34 percent three-point shooting percentage in 2018-19.

Coach Pruitt on Hotchkiss: "Madison is an extremely quick guard that is tough to keep out of the lane for opposing defenders. She has great court vision and is an excellent passer. We are extremely excited to bring in another tremendous student-athlete, to the University of La Verne."

Last season Ponce averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game at West Hills College Lemoore. She prepped at Atwater High School in the Central Valley and was a CCC First Team selection.

Coach Pruitt on Ponce: "Alondra is a very strong and physical player that is very active everywhere on the floor. She is also very versatile and can play multiple positions both offensively and defensively."

Last season Xiong averaged 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. She prepped at Atwater High School in the Central Valley and was a CCC Second Team selection.

Coach Pruitt on Xiong: "Jasmine is a very strong and athletic combo guard that has the ability to score at the rim. But her pull up jumper and three-point shooting are both very good. She can also be a pest for opposing guards with his defense."

Last season Maldonado averaged 13 points per game and 8.4 rebounds. Vanessa scored in double figures in 19 out of 25 games last season and grabbed double-digit rebounds in 11 games. She had a career-high 17 rebounds against Mission College. She prepped at Santa Clara High School in Oxnard, CA where she averaged 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Coach Pruitt on Maldonado: "Vanessa is very skilled and has a great feel for the game. She has the ability to play multiple positions offensively and due to her athleticism and size she can guard all three perimeter positions on defense."

In two seasons at the City College of San Francisco, Dorsey has been a part of two Conference Championship teams. While at CCSF her teams finished 48-9. She finished her CCCAA career with 123 steals, 133 assists, and 141 rebounds while playing point guard.

Coach Pruitt on Dorsey: "Anissah is the true definition of a point guard. She is a leader on the floor. She takes care of the ball; she makes everyone around her better and she is a very good on ball defender."

Experienced and seasoned basketball player Lei Talaro joins the Leopards for the 2019-20 season. Last season at Santa Baraba City College, Talaro played an instrumental role in helping the team to a 16-win season.

Coach Pruitt on Talaro: "Lei is a tough court general that leads by example. She brings tenacity, leadership and a strong work ethic we expect in our student-athletes. She will fit right in with our style of play and add another athletic piece."

In 2018-2019 Baltazar started 23 out of 24 games for Oxnard College. She joins her OC teammates Mary Nichols & Vanessa Maldonado. Last season she recorded 70 rebounds, 21 assists, and 20 steals.

Coach Pruitt on Baltazar: "Kim brings a toughness to our program that I think all coaches love. She can score it a little bit also which is always a nice thing."

After taking a year off, Mikaelian is ready to bring her talents to the University of La Verne. Her last action was during the 2017-2018 season where she helped Los Angles Trade Tech to a State Final Four appearance and a 24-7 record.

Coach Pruitt on Mikaelian: "Mary is a great teammate. She is somebody who loves the game and will put the extra work in to be great."

During her time at Rio Hondo College, Morales, originally out of Arcadia High School, was a two-year starter for the Roadrunners and played a key role in the turnaround of the women's basketball program and its success over the last two years.

"Her toughness and work ethic will be missed next year," said Rio Hondo head coach Rene Herrera.

Coach Pruitt on Morales: "Brianna is as tough as they come. She is a team-first player. Brianna will do anything to help our team and we need more players like that in a program. "

Season Opener

The Leopards will play their alumni game on Saturday, October 26 at 2 p.m. and play their regular-season opener on Friday, November eight in The Tents against 7 p.m.

La Verne's complete 2019-20 roster will be posted soon.

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