EPHRAIM, Utah (April 20, 2018) -- With the signatures of five top players, Snow College women's basketball coach Mike Russell has announced the 2018 list of signees.
"This is the most complete class -- top to bottom -- that we've signed in my three years here," Russell said. "We're adding size and length, more athleticism, and a lot of scoring firepower. I feel like we have done a nice job recruiting kids that fit our culture. From a character standpoint, academically, and of course on-court ability, these new freshmen will fit right in with what we have established here at Snow. We are really excited about this 2018 class.
"We're happy with the balance we will have this year with returning six players. Having continuity within our program makes a big difference. I would attribute a lot of our success from last season to the five players we returned from the 2016-17 team. We feel strongly that having six players with experience, while adding five very capable freshman to the mix will be the perfect combination for continued success."
The Lady Badgers finished the 2017-18 season with an overall record of 22-8, going 9-3 in the Scenic West to finish second overall.
Claire Newby
5-9
Guard
St. George, Utah (Pine View HS)
Claire Newby is a 5-foot-9 guard from St. George, Utah where she prepped at Pine View High School. A four-year varsity starter at Pine View, Newby averaged 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as a senior. She was selected First-Team All-Region 9, Honorable Mention All-State and Academic All-State.
"We've been recruiting Claire since her freshman season, which is longer than any other player we have coming in," Russell said. "She is the prototypical player/person that we go after and we have always felt that she'd be a great fit here. She is of high character, a great student and a great player. Claire is also very versatile and we believe that she'll be able to help our team in a lot of areas because of her ability to play several positions. I'm excited about the possibilities Claire will bring."
Samantha Barnett
5-11
Forward
Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS)
Samantha Barnett is a 5-foot-11 forward from Highland, Utah where she prepped at Lone Peak High School in Alpine, Utah. Barnett averaged 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a senior (2014-15) before she suffered a season-ending knee injury. She currently sits third all-time for career rebounds at Lone Peak. Sam attended Utah Valley University as a preferred walk-on in 2015, but decided to put her schooling on hold to serve an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Barnett returned home from the Alpine German-speaking Mission last February.
"We are so excited about the addition of Sam Barnett," Russell said. "She brings a lot of maturity and leadership, as well as a toughness that's hard to find. She plays so much bigger than she is because of how strong she is, and once she gets her legs back I think it'll be difficult for anyone (other than her) to get a rebound. I'm really looking forward to coaching Sam and having her in our program."
Rachel Richards
5-7
Guard
Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS)
Rachel Richards is a 5-foot-7 guard from Highland, Utah where she prepped at Lone Peak High School in Alpine, Utah. Rachel was a two-year varsity starter at Lone Peak. She averaged 7.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a senior. She was selected Honorable Mention All-Valley and Honorable Mention All-Region 4.
"If our conference had a "Newcomer of the Year Award", it could very easily end up being Rachel," Russell said. "She is an awesome, extremely under the radar, ball player that we feel very fortunate to have in our program. She makes everyone around her better and her level of "will to win" is very uncommon. She flat out does whatever she can to help her team win, and quite frankly we need more of that in our program. I can't wait to coach Rachel, she's the ultimate team player."
Tia Heggie
5-8
Guard
Cardston, Alberta (American Leadership Academy; Queen Creek, Ariz.)
Tia Heggie is a 5-foot-8 guard from Cardston, Alberta (CAN) where she prepped at American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek, AZ. Heggie averaged 23 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 6.2 steals per game as a senior. She scored over 1,000 career points and was a varsity starter for three years at ALA. She was selected First Team All-Region, Region Defensive Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-Conference. On three separate occasions Heggie eclipsed the 40-point mark in a game; scoring 41, 47 and 46 respectively.
"Tia's an unbelievable scorer, but the thing that makes her so good is that she gets it done on the defensive end," Russell said. "We're excited about T because she's such a multidimensional player -- she scores, she defends, she rebounds, she distributes…and she's a coaches' kid, so she's grown up around the game. That's just one more thing we love about her. I can't wait to have her in our program."
Rachel Roberts
6-0
Guard
Carlsbad, California (San Marcos HS)
Rachel Roberts is a 6-foot guard from Carlsbad, California where she prepped at San Marcos High School in San Diego, Calif. Roberts averaged 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game as a senior. She scored over 1,000 career points and was a varsity starter for three years at San Marcos HS. As a senior she led her team to its first playoff win in school history and eventually to the state semi-finals. She was selected First Team All-League (Avocado East), First Team All-CIF (San Diego Section), Second Team San Diego Section (San Diego Hoops Report) and she made the All-Academic Team (Union Tribune).
"I think we're getting a steal of a deal with Rachel because I believe she's a Division-I talent," Russell said. "To have a kid that can literally play all five positions on the court is extremely rare, but that's what we're getting with Rachel. There really isn't anything that she can't do. She's the complete package and I can't wait to coach her."
