July 11, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Four incoming Texas A&M women’s basketball players have had successful summers on the high school all-star game circuit.
Freshman forward Adaora Elonu (pronounced uh-DOOR-uh eh-lawn-OO) out of Houston’s Alief Elsik High School recently scored a game-high 20 points to lead the South to a 72-67 victory over the North in the Texas Girls Coaches Association 4A/5A All-Star Basketball Game held in Grand Prairie, Texas. Elonu, the younger sister of Texas A&M men’s basketball player Chinemelu Elonu, was named Most Valuable Player after knocking down 10 points in two 18-minute halves to go along with two key free throws down the stretch.
Fellow A&M teammate and freshman guard Sydney Carter out of DeSoto High School registered 14 points for the North and hit a three-pointer with 15.6 seconds left that cut the South’s lead to 70-67. Elonu was rated the No. 49 overall prospect and sixth-best power forward in the Class of 2008 by the All-Star Girls Basketball Report, while Carter was rated the No. 63 overall prospect and the 10th-best point guard in the country.
Meanwhile, freshman forward Kelsey Assarian (pronounced us-AIRR-ian) out of Naples (Fla.) Barron Collier High School scored 20 points to lead the South to an 83-48 rout of the North squad in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association North-South Basketball All-Star Classic held in Daytona Beach, Fla. She was named MVP and led Barron Collier to the Class 5A state championship this past season. Assarian, originally from Grapevine, Texas, was rated the No. 54 overall prospect and the eighth-best power forward in the Class of 2008 by the ASGBR.
In addition, Elonu and freshman guard Skylar Collins out of Cedar Hill High School participated in the TABC All-Star Girls Basketball Game held in San Antonio. Elonu recorded 16 points, while Collins added nine to lead the White team to a 68-67 overtime victory. Collins was rated the No. 44 overall prospect and the sixth-best shooting guard in the Class of 2008.
All four freshmen join a veteran Aggie squad which reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history and won the Big 12 Conference postseason championship title during a record-setting 2007-08 season. Elonu, Carter, Collins and Assarian are four of six newcomers to the women’s basketball team which includes incoming freshman guard Taniqua Hollis (Anton, Texas) and junior college All-American Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.).