Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women’s Basketball Rounds Out Roster with Four Additions
8/29/2008 4:43:31 PM | Women's Basketball
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Eastern Michigan University head women’s basketball coach AnnMarie Gilbert has announced the addition of four players to the 2008-09 roster. Junior-college transfers Amanda Tretheway (San Francisco, Calif.-El Camino (Foothill C.C.) and Kayla Vantil (Mountain View, Calif.-Mountain View (Foothill C.C.) join De’Ja Wills (Anderson, Ind.-Anderson) and Sydney Huntley-Rogers (Cincinnati, Ohio-Purcell Marian) in a recruiting class that includes eight newcomers.
Tretheway and Vantil both averaged a double-double in high school and garnered all-conference honors in the Coast Conference and El Camino Conference, respectively. The post tandem anchored the front court of a Foothill program that had a record of 60-12 over the past two seasons with a 33-3 record during the 2007-08 season en route to a runner-up ranking among California junior colleges.
"We are thrilled to add Amanda and Kayla to our program. Amanda is a long, lanky post who is very mobile in transition and scores well around the basket. She is a solid defender who rebounds well, blocks shots and will be an asset in our press attack," Gilbert said.
"Kayla is an inside-out post player who brings much needed scoring and versatility to our interior play. She will add to our rebounding effort and give us more depth in the post," the second year mentor added. Both Kayla and Amanda come from such a highly successful team and will be nice additions to our program."
Wills and Huntley-Rogers signed national letters of intent in November 2006 but were unable to participate with the team last year due to NCAA non-qualifier status. During her senior season in high school, Wills, a 5-foot-9 guard, led Anderson High School with 18.3 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 steals per game en route to the IHSAA Final Four. The two-tine All-North Central Conference selection scored more than 1,100 points, including a 53-point performance , during her career with the Lady Tribe.
Huntley-Rogers was named Ohio Division III Player of the Year during her junior season and finished second for the award while averaging 18.7 points and 4.2 assists during her senior season. The 5-foot-7 guard scored more than 2,000 points in her high school career and was named to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s first team during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
"I am very excited to have Sydney and De’Ja join our team," Gilbert said. Sydney has amazing speed and quickness and has the potential to be one of the best point guards in the MAC. She is a very efficient long-range shooter who has tremendous scoring potential.
"De’Ja is an exceptional shooter who moves extremely well without the basketball and can create scoring opportunities for herself and others. She also has experience at the point guard position and will add incredible depth to our backcourt. We are honored to add a player of her caliber to our roster," Gilbert added.
The foursome join Tymeshe Gibson (Kansas City, Mo.-Park Hill South), Tavelyn James (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford), Paige Redditt (Belton, Mo.-Belton) and Brittany Simmons (Zion, Ill.-Benton) and will all begin class in the fall.
