Women's Basketball 11/17/12

Women’s Basketball Signs Five Highly-Regarded Student-Athletes

Staten Island, NY – Wagner College Head Women's Basketball Coach Lisa Cermignano has announced the signing of five student-athletes to national letters of intent in 5-9 shooting guard Maria Conyers-Jordan (Philadelphia, PA / Friends' Central), 5-11 small forward Jackie Dluhi (Middletown, NJ/ Middletown South), 5-8 point guard Jasmine Nwajei (Rockaway Park, NY/ Murry Bergtraum), 5-8 shooting guard Lyndsay Rowe  (South River, NJ / St. John Vianney) and 6-3 forward Shakila Small  (Brooklyn, NY/ Medgar Evers College Prep).

Name     Ht Pos. Hometown/HS AAU Team
Maria Conyers-Jordan 5-9 Guard Phil., PA/ Friends' Central NYC Gauchos
Jackie Dluhi 5-11 Forward Middletown, NJ/ Middletown South Jersey Shore Wildcats
Jasmine Nwajei 5-8 Guard   Rockaway Park, NY/Murry Bergtraum   Positive Direction Royals
Lyndsay Rowe 5-8 Guard South River, NJ/ St. John Vianney Jersey Cardinals
Shakila Small 6-3 Forward Brooklyn, NY/ Medgar Evers College Prep NYC Gauchos

These five student-athletes will enroll at Wagner as freshmen for the 2013-2014 academic year.

“We are very excited about our first full recruiting class. We feel that we have attracted five high character student-athletes with superb credentials. With this 2013 class, we have taken an enormous step in the right direction for Wagner Women's Basketball,” said Cermignano. “When we arrived here last spring, our stated goal was winning an NEC Championship and making the NCAA tournament. We think that these five players, in addition to the players we have returning, will help us get to where we want to be.”

“This is a change-the-program type of class in terms of attitude and direction,” said Mike Flynn, Director of Blue Star Media. “This class is a great start to the Lisa Cermignano Era.”

Maria Conyers-Jordan is a remarkable student-athlete who has attended the prestigious Friends Central School in Wynnewood, PA for four years. Also a member of the nationally known NYC Gauchos team, she has the ability to defend and create havoc for any opponent she faced nationwide.

She averaged 17.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting a robust 45 percent for Friends' Central where she helped lead her team to a League conference championship. Against Freire Charter, Conyers-Jordan poured in 33 of her team's 45 points, which was a career high. Her performance was highlighted by hitting six three-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter alone. For her efforts, she was tabbed the Main Line Times Athlete of the Week. Her accolades include being named to the All Friends School League Team in addition to earning MVP honors of the 2012 New York vs. Philadelphia All-Star game in August.

“Maria offers a difficult matchup for anyone at any level at multiple positions,” said Coach Cermignano. “Her athleticism combined with her high basketball IQ brings added depth and extreme value to an already strong 2013 Wagner Women's Basketball recruiting class.”

Jackie Dluhi, a member of the highly-regarded Jersey Shore Wildcats AAU program, is a versatile small forward known for her excellent work ethic on and off the floor.

“Jackie is one of the most dedicated and focused players I have ever worked with and I have seen them all,” said Elonya “Tiny” Green, Director of Programming at The HoopGroup. “The Wagner staff did a masterful recruiting job.”

A four-year varsity member, the 5-11 Dluhi led Middletown South to a first-place finish in the Shore Conference A-North Division before embarking on a journey that resulted in a semifinal appearance in the Central Jersey Group IV Playoffs.

Dluhi averaged 8.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, dished out 3.2 assists and blocked 2.0 shots per game during her junior year, while recording 11 double doubles on the season. A First-Team Shore Conference North Division choice by the Asbury Park Press, and a Third-Team All-Shore selection by hoopgroup.com, Dluhi also holds a 3.7 GPA in the classroom and is a member of both the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society.

“Jackie is one of those special players you only wish to be able to coach and develop,” Cermignano said. “Her ability to play multiple positions, on both ends of the floor, will allow her to contribute immediately.”

Jasmine Nwajei is a standout on the highly-competitive Positive Direction Royals AAU program, led by Joann Arbitello. She has been a loyal member of this family values-based program since the age of 10. Nwajei is poised for a tremendous senior season and is ready to take New York City's PSAL by storm this winter after transferring to tradition-rich Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan. Like all five members of the Seahawks' Class of 2017, Nwajei was sought after by a host of colleges and universities from across the Northeast and beyond.

“As soon as she gets on the court you can't help but notice her athleticism and feisty competitiveness,” said NYCHoops.Net. “What you love about Nwajei is that she's absolutely fearless when it comes to attacking the basket and creating shots for herself.”
Jasmine is rated a 4-star recruit, the eighth- best player in the state of New York, and is ranked 91^st in her position nationally by ESPN Hoopgurlz. Last season, Nwajei, who once scored 55 points in a game, led her Mary Louis Academy team to an upset of national powerhouse Christ the King, for the first time ever in the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens semifinals en route to a third straight diocesan title game appearance.

“Jasmine, to me, is one of the most underrated point guards in the country,” Cermignano said. “With her ability to score, create for others, and put an entire team on her back, she will have an immediate impact in raising the level of Wagner Women's Basketball.”

Lyndsay Rowe, a member of the Jersey Cardinals AAU program, founded by Kristen Somogyi, is considered one of the best shooting guards in the state of New Jersey. As a junior, she averaged 10.2 points per game as for the St. John Vianney Lancers of Holmdel, NJ,, a perennial Garden State prep power. She also helped guide her team the to a pair of Parochial A New Jersey State Championships and two New Jersey Tournament of Champions title game appearances. Besides maintaining a 4.01 GPA, she is a member of the National Honor Society and President of the Spanish National Honor Society.

“I am very excited to welcome Lyndsay to our Wagner women's basketball family,” said Cermignano. “Her leadership skills, refuse-to-lose work ethic and attitude, on and off the floor, combined with her incredible ability and knowledge of the game, will add that winning edge we need to be successful here at Wagner College.”

Shakila Small, a 6'3 versatile shot blocker who is a scoring threat from anywhere on the floor, combines an incredible touch around the basket with deep range on her jump shot. She chose Wagner over a wide array of other Division I programs such as Georgetown University, the University of Charlotte, and Towson University, among others.

Small, who attends Medgar Evers College Prep in Brooklyn, is also rated a 3-star recruit and the number 33 player at her in position nationally by ESPN Hoopgurlz. She is also ranked the 190^th-best prospect in the nation by Blue Star Basketball and competed on the highly touted Nike AAU Girls basketball circuit. After competing in the 2012 Nike Nationals last August, Jumpoffplus.com tabbed her the “Prospect of the Week” while ranking her as the nation's 153^rd-best prospect.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to coach Shakila Small,” Cermignano said. “She is recognized as one of the most versatile post players in New York City and has received national recognition as a member of the Nike Elite NYC Gauchos AAU team. The experience she's gained in both high school and AAU competition will allow her to make an early impact on Wagner women's basketball's path to future championships.”

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Women’s Basketball Signs Five Highly-Regarded Student-Athletes

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