Boston College Athletics
Women's Basketball Will Welcome Four Players In 2011-2012
November 16, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2010
Chestnut Hill, MA - The Boston College women's basketball program has received National Letters of Intent from four high school seniors, head coach Sylvia Crawley announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Joy Caracciolo of Virginia, Kathleen "Kat" Cooper of Washington, Victoria Lesko of New Jersey and Deidra Smith of Colorado will comprise the class of 2015.
"We felt we needed size more than anything, given we will be losing Stefanie Murphy & Carolyn Swords next year. So our focus was to bring in forwards,'' said BC Head Coach Sylvia Crawley. "I'm excited about the variety of players in this class. It is a combination of power and finesse; they can all face the basket and bang inside.''
Caracciolo, a 6-2 forward, is a senior at Stonewall High School in Manassas, Virginia. She averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and four blocks a game last season and was named to the All-District, and All-Region first teams. Caracciolo also earned a Virginia All-State honorable mention nod as a junior.
"I'm so excited to have some "Joy" in my life,'' said Crawley of the Virginia native. "She is exciting to watch. Joy is what we consider a Lamar Odom type of player, a perimeter player trapped in a post body. She can bring the ball up the court, lead a fastbreak and doesn't shy away from contact inside. We think she will flourish in our system due to her versatility and basketball intelligence.''
Cooper, a 6-foot guard-forward, is a native of Pacific, Washington. Cooper has played at Auburn Riverside High School and averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game as a junior. In the state tournament she averaged 20 points a game. Cooper was named to the 4A All-State first team, All-District first team and All-League first team.
"Kathleen Cooper has a "Bulldog" mentality that I wanted on our team. She attacks the basket hard, and has a "refuse to lose" mentality,'' said Crawley. "She can post up smaller guards and she can also defend players in the ACC who play inside out.''
Lesko, a 6-foot-2 forward, is a senior at Rumson-Fair Haven High School, averaged 8.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and shot 49.5 percent from the field as a junior. She has helped Rumson earn two consecutive State Titles. She was named to the WOBM Tournament first team and helped Rumson earn three Top 20 rankings in New Jersey. "Victoria is a player who can really thrive in our system because of her ability to drive, pass, and shoot the three. She will have the opportunity to expand her game at Boston College because of her versatility, and knowledge of the game,'' said Crawley.
Smith, a 6-foor-2 power forward, is a senior at Denver East High School in Denver, Colorado. She attended Overland High in Aurora as a freshman and sophomore. Last season at East High, Smith averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots a game. She was named All-State honorable mention and All-Conference first team last season at East. She earned All-City, All-Conference first team honors as a sophomore at Overland.
"Deidra has a high basketball IQ, and she understands positioning as a post player. I'm excited about Deidra because as she continues to get stronger, her game will get even better,'' said Crawley. "I see leadership qualities in Deidra, which will be much needed on our young team. She is very different from future teammate, Joy Caracciolo, who is a finesse post who can be a power player. `'
