Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/129327
CLASS FROM PREVIOUS PAGE WBCA and McDonald's All-America nominee, an All-Metro selection by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and won secondteam All-State honors. "Peyton is a 1,000-point scorer and a great student," North Gwinnett coach Bryan Sellers said. "She has a great wingspan and is a matchup problem." Sellers said Whitted can take defenders out of the paint with her ability to shoot the 3. "She has a beautiful jump shot," he said. Point guard Lindsey Spann of Good Counsel High in Laurel, Md., is ranked 18th at her position and 84th overall by ESPN. She is said to have a lot of moves in her repertoire, including upand-under layups, no-look passes and drives to the basket. Washington describes Spann as Penn State's "next great point guard." Senior Dara Taylor, who will play the point for Penn State next season following Alex Bentley's graduation, has called her "aggressive." The 5-6 Spann made 80 percent of her free throw attempts and averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals last season. She made The Washington Post's first-team AllMet squad and gained individual awards in free throw shooting and 3pointers in the 2012 Maryland Tournament of Champions. Post player Kaliyah Mitchell of Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, Ga., stands 6-2 and is ranked ninth at her position and 88th overall by ESPN. She played for a team that finished 25-6 this season. Mitchell participated in the DeKalb County Basketball AllStar game and was named first-team All-State in Class AAAAAA at the end of her senior year. Mitchell and Whitted join Lady Lion junior-to-be Tori Waldner as products of the Peach State. Washington's three-star recruits are Jenny DeGraaf, KeKe Sevillian and Infiniti Alston. DeGraaf of Springboro (Ohio) High, is a 6-1 forward who is ranked No. 27 at her position by ESPN. The Dayton Daily News listed her as one of five seniors to watch, describing her as a "lock-down defender." Springboro fin- ished with a 17-7 record, and DeGraaf scored 17 of her team's 51 points in the Division I sectional semifinals. Sevillian of Goodrich (Mich.) High sat out her senior season due to an ACL injury she suffered in November. As a junior, she averaged 13.5 points, 3.8 steals and two assists per game and was the leading scorer on an undefeated team that won the state championship. "People spent time preparing for her," coach Jason Gray said. "She's the Pa. prep star transferring to Penn State The seven freshmen who are getting set to enroll at Penn State won't be the only newcomers on the Lady Lions' roster this season. Coach Coquese Washington has also added a blue-chip transfer: 5-foot-10 guard Sierra Moore, who is returning to her home state after attending Duke last season. Moore, a Hanover resident, MOORE was one of the most highly regarded players in the country as a senior at Delone Catholic High. She was rated 21st nationally by Blue Star Report, 26th by Peach State Hoops and 49th by ESPN Hoopgurlz. She was selected to the McDonald's and Parade All-America teams and garnered Gatorade Player of the Year and Associated Press Class AA Player of the Year honors in Pennsylvania. Additionally, she was a first-team All-State selection in fastest kid I ever coached." Sevillian, a point guard, scored 916 points in her injury-shortened career and twice finished second in the 300meter hurdles at the state championship meet. Alston of Harbor High School in Baltimore is a 6-6 post player who is ranked 88th overall and 20th at her position by ESPN. She averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots last season. 2011 and 2010 and was a thirdteam honoree in 2009. "We are really excited to have Sierra join our program," Washington said in a news release. "She brings tremendous defensive ability and is an outstanding athlete. It's great to have her back home in Pennsylvania." Moore will sit out the 2013-14 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. She will have three seasons of eligibility remaining when she begins competing for the Lady Lions in 2014-15 and will likely help fill the offensive deficit Penn State will face when Maggie Lucas graduates after the coming season. Moore holds the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association scoring record with 2,595 points at Delone Catholic. She also totaled 1,031 rebounds, 432 assists, 360 steals and 150 blocks for the Squirettes. As a senior, she averaged 24.7 points, 3.9 assists, 9.4 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks, leading Delone Catholic to a 23-6 record and an appearance in the PIAA quarterfinals. At Duke, Moore was part of a recruiting class that was rated No. 2 in the country. She played in 25 games as a freshman, averaging 2.5 points and 1.0 rebounds. Her best performance was a 10-point, three-assist effort against Cal State-Bakersfield on Dec. 21.