Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women's Basketball Inks Trio of Newcomers for 2022
5/17/2022 9:02:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Head Coach Fred Castro announced the signing of Angena Belloso, Tayra Eke, and Ashley Hassett
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball program and Head Coach Fred Castro announced the signing of three players for the upcoming 2022 season today, May 16. Castro and Co. are set to welcome Angena Belloso (Montgat, Spain-Mireia-Montgat), Tayra Eke (Madrid, Spain-IES Ortega y Gasset (LIU)), and Ashley Hassett (Hershey, Neb.-Hershey (Northeast C.C.)) as the three newest additions to the team roster.
"I am incredibly excited to welcome three new difference makers to Ypsilanti," proclaimed Castro. "All three of these players bring experience, skill, and talent to our team for the upcoming season. We have had a tremendous track record in identifying both high school and transfer talent and helping them to find a home at Eastern Michigan. I have no doubt that Angena, Tayra, and Ashley will excel here, and that they will immediately mesh with our extremely talented group of returning players."
Hailing from Montgat, Spain, Belloso will don the Green and White after an impressive prep career in her home country. A member of the Mireia-Montgat high school program, Belloso played under Head Coach Enric Cervera and blossomed into one of the best young talents in Europe. In fact, she was ranked among the BlueStar 30 in Europe. BlueStar is a series of camps that evaluates top talent from numerous countries. In addition to her prep team, Belloso also played for Snatt's Femeni Sant Adria in the Spain LF-2 league, where she averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 5.1 steals per game in her U-18 leauge. She earned team MVP honors for her performance.
"Angena is a big guard that can shoot the three, and has the speed and quickness to get to the rim," said Castro. "She loves to use her speed to be disruptive defensively and create easy scoring opportunities. Angena has played a lot of high level basketball in Spain, so that experience will help her transition here at Eastern Michigan. She will be an exciting freshman to watch grow this year."
Joining her fellow Spaniard is Eke, who comes to Ypsilanti following a stint at Long Island University. A 6-foot-3 post, Eke saw action in 27 games for LIU during her freshman campaign, the 2021-22 season. Earning nearly 400 minutes of court time, Eke was by far the best shooter on the team, as she knocked down 54.1 percent (40-of-74) of her total attempts on the season. She was the only player on the team to eclipse the 50 percent standard. A steady rebounder as well, Eke hauled in 83 total boards during her inaugural season, including 24 on the offensive end. Her 3.1 rebounds per contest average ranked inside LIU's top-10. Dominant defensively, she recorded a whopping 45 blocks on the season, by far the most of any LIU player, and the most by any student-athlete in the Northeast Conference. That number was also good for the 77th-best mark in all of NCAA Division I college basketball. Additionally, Her 1.67 blocked shots per game ranked 57th in the nation. In addition to LIU, she is also a member of the U20 Spanish National Team this summer.
"Tayra is a true 6-foot-3 player, who can really run the floor and move her feet laterally," noted Castro. " She knows how to operate on the block as well as knock down 15-foot jump shots. Her experience at LIU this past year and her time with the U20 Spanish National Team this summer will allow her to hit the ground running in 2022 for us."
Joining the Eagles after time in the junior college ranks, Hassett rounds out the trio of signees for the 2022 campaign. A Hershey, Neb. native, she comes to Eastern after time with the Northeast Community College Hawks, playing under Head Coach Matt Svehla. A standout player for Northeast, Hassett played in and started 23 games during her first season. She averaged 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game during the 2020-21 schedule. Even better during her sophomore season, Hassett improved in nearly every category as she erupted for a 20.5 points per game average during her 31 games started. She also increased her rebounding totals in dramatic fashion, going for 9.7 per game in 2021-22. A career 40-percent shooter, Hassett knocked down better than 32 percent of her triple tries in junior college. A high school standout in the state of Nebraska, Hassett was a three-time letterwinner and two-year starter for the Hershey High School Panthers. An all-conference selection and team MVP as a senior, she led her team to a 20-6 overall record.
"We are excited to add a proven scorer and rebounder like Ashley to our program," said Castro. "This past year, she was third in the country in scoring and first in free throws made. She is a constant mismatch problem for opponents because of her skill set and physicality. She is hungry to get in the gym and help our ball club."
Castro, his three newest signees, and the rest of the Eagles will be hard at work during the summer months prepping for the upcoming 2022 slate. Stay tuned to EMUEagles.com and the team's social media, @EMUWBB, for the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball.
"I am incredibly excited to welcome three new difference makers to Ypsilanti," proclaimed Castro. "All three of these players bring experience, skill, and talent to our team for the upcoming season. We have had a tremendous track record in identifying both high school and transfer talent and helping them to find a home at Eastern Michigan. I have no doubt that Angena, Tayra, and Ashley will excel here, and that they will immediately mesh with our extremely talented group of returning players."
Hailing from Montgat, Spain, Belloso will don the Green and White after an impressive prep career in her home country. A member of the Mireia-Montgat high school program, Belloso played under Head Coach Enric Cervera and blossomed into one of the best young talents in Europe. In fact, she was ranked among the BlueStar 30 in Europe. BlueStar is a series of camps that evaluates top talent from numerous countries. In addition to her prep team, Belloso also played for Snatt's Femeni Sant Adria in the Spain LF-2 league, where she averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 5.1 steals per game in her U-18 leauge. She earned team MVP honors for her performance.
"Angena is a big guard that can shoot the three, and has the speed and quickness to get to the rim," said Castro. "She loves to use her speed to be disruptive defensively and create easy scoring opportunities. Angena has played a lot of high level basketball in Spain, so that experience will help her transition here at Eastern Michigan. She will be an exciting freshman to watch grow this year."
Joining her fellow Spaniard is Eke, who comes to Ypsilanti following a stint at Long Island University. A 6-foot-3 post, Eke saw action in 27 games for LIU during her freshman campaign, the 2021-22 season. Earning nearly 400 minutes of court time, Eke was by far the best shooter on the team, as she knocked down 54.1 percent (40-of-74) of her total attempts on the season. She was the only player on the team to eclipse the 50 percent standard. A steady rebounder as well, Eke hauled in 83 total boards during her inaugural season, including 24 on the offensive end. Her 3.1 rebounds per contest average ranked inside LIU's top-10. Dominant defensively, she recorded a whopping 45 blocks on the season, by far the most of any LIU player, and the most by any student-athlete in the Northeast Conference. That number was also good for the 77th-best mark in all of NCAA Division I college basketball. Additionally, Her 1.67 blocked shots per game ranked 57th in the nation. In addition to LIU, she is also a member of the U20 Spanish National Team this summer.
"Tayra is a true 6-foot-3 player, who can really run the floor and move her feet laterally," noted Castro. " She knows how to operate on the block as well as knock down 15-foot jump shots. Her experience at LIU this past year and her time with the U20 Spanish National Team this summer will allow her to hit the ground running in 2022 for us."
Joining the Eagles after time in the junior college ranks, Hassett rounds out the trio of signees for the 2022 campaign. A Hershey, Neb. native, she comes to Eastern after time with the Northeast Community College Hawks, playing under Head Coach Matt Svehla. A standout player for Northeast, Hassett played in and started 23 games during her first season. She averaged 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game during the 2020-21 schedule. Even better during her sophomore season, Hassett improved in nearly every category as she erupted for a 20.5 points per game average during her 31 games started. She also increased her rebounding totals in dramatic fashion, going for 9.7 per game in 2021-22. A career 40-percent shooter, Hassett knocked down better than 32 percent of her triple tries in junior college. A high school standout in the state of Nebraska, Hassett was a three-time letterwinner and two-year starter for the Hershey High School Panthers. An all-conference selection and team MVP as a senior, she led her team to a 20-6 overall record.
"We are excited to add a proven scorer and rebounder like Ashley to our program," said Castro. "This past year, she was third in the country in scoring and first in free throws made. She is a constant mismatch problem for opponents because of her skill set and physicality. She is hungry to get in the gym and help our ball club."
Castro, his three newest signees, and the rest of the Eagles will be hard at work during the summer months prepping for the upcoming 2022 slate. Stay tuned to EMUEagles.com and the team's social media, @EMUWBB, for the most up-to-date information on all things EMU women's basketball.
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