May 10, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle Head Women's Basketball Coach Jeff Williams has signed six to National Letters of Intent to play for the Explorers beginning in the 2011-12 season. The signing class includes two top-100 position players and four McDonald's All-America nominees.

"I'm very excited about this class," Williams said. "I think this class makes us much more athletic. We added some perimeter shooting and I think we also added some kids who will be able to play up-tempo and be able to pressure the ball defensively."

In addition to the six signees, Williams gains the talents of Brittany Wilson (Pawtucket, R.I./Bay View/Northeastern) who sat out the 2010-11 season after transferring from Northeastern.

Jordan Mosley

Jordan Mosley (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek) brings experience at the point as she ranks in the top 100 guards in the Class of 2011. The 5'9 guard led Timber Creek High School to the Metro Conference Championship and is a four-time All-Metro Conference pick. Mosley is also a two-time McDonald's All-American nominee, earning the honor both as a junior and this past season as a senior. She was named to the Florida Athletic Coaches' Association All-State Team and was a Second Team All-Central Florida pick.

Mosley was named Most Valuable Player of the Fort Myers Christmas Invitational this past season after earning All-Tournament Team honors as a junior.

Mosley was also invited to the FABC Senior All-Star game. She participated in the Nike Nationals in July of 2010 and was a Nike Skills Camp invitee in 2008.

Mosley played club ball with the AAU Orlando Comets.

Mosley also ran three varsity seasons of cross country in addition to one season of tennis. She is also an academic standout at Timber Creek, as she is a member of both the National Honor Society and French Honor Society. Mosley volunteers as a scorekeeper for AAU tournaments held at Disney.

Coach Williams on Mosley: "Jordan is a very athletic combo guard. She can play the 1 or the 2 position. We're going to look to play her at the point. She's going to have an opportunity to compete for a starting position. She's a kid who can not only shoot the three, but can push the ball in transition. I think she has the ability to be a very good on-ball defender, so we're very excited about Jordan and what she brings to the table for La Salle."

Ruvanna Campbell

Ruvanna Campbell (Chicago, Ill./Crane) is a 6'2 forward who brings strong rebounding skills to the Explorer squad. Campbell comes to 20th and Olney as the No. 90 forward in the Class of 2011.

She averaged a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior at Crane and also added 4.2 blocks and two assists per contest. Campbell, the team leader in blocks and rebounds, led her squad to a 2011 regional championship and a 2010 conference championship.

This past season, she was a McDonald's All-America nominee as well as Second Team All-State, First Team All-City and First Team All-Conference. Campbell also played AAU ball with the Illinois Hustle

Coach Williams on Campbell: "Ruvanna is a very long, extremely athletic kid with a huge upside. She can put the ball on the floor, can step out to three even though she needs to improve that. She is a very tenacious rebounder and very good defensive player. I think she'll cover a lot of ground in terms of her development in a short period of time."

Jada Payne

Jada Payne (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) is a 6'2 guard-forward who led her Hickory High School team to a 28-3 record and the state finals in 2010-11. She was one of the top players on a squad that won the Northwestern 3A-4A and West 3A Regional championships, and was named the West 3A Regional Most Valuable Player. Payne was also named the West MVP at the state finals. Payne earned Hickory Daily Record Sports' All-Greater Hickory Girls' Player of the Year honors and was also tabbed to the Associated Press All-North Carolina Team.

Payne is also the first Hickory female player to be invited to play in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game in at least eight years. She is also a 2011 McDonald's All-American nominee.

Payne also led her squad to the conference regular season title as a sophomore and both the regular season and tournament title as a junior, as well as the sectional finals in both seasons. As a junior, she averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game, along with five steals and four assists. She was named all-conference, First Team All-District and Second Team All-Region in 2009-10.

Coach Williams on Payne: "Jada Payne has an opportunity to be an impact player as a freshman. She has the ability to shoot the three as well as get to the basket. She is also an athletic kid who has the ability to be a good defensive player. We are very excited about the addition of Jada Payne. She's a natural scorer."

Siobhan Beslow

Siobhan Beslow (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) is a 6'0 forward who averaged a double-double during her senior season at Westfield High School. She scored 13.2 points per game while pulling down 12.0 rebounds per game, and registered a career-high 12 double-doubles on the season. She set career highs in both scoring and rebounds in the same game, with 22 points and 20 boards.

Beslow was an All-Concorde District honorable mention as a junior before earning First Team honors as a senior. Also as a senior, she was named the Concorde District Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She also earned Second Team All-Northern Virginia Region honors and was named to the All-Met Honorable Mention team. As a junior, she led her team to the Westfield Bulldog Bash Holiday Tournament title and was a two-year All-Tournament Team honoree.

Beslow played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Oscar Smith High School, where she was named the team's Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore along with earning the team's Coaches' Award.

She competed with the DMV Ballaholics and Boo Williams Norfolk Express club teams, helping lead the Ballaholics to the 2010 AAU Charm City Adidas Showdown title. She was a pivotal player on the 2007 Norfolk Express 14U team that won the AAU Eastern Regional championship.

Coach Williams on Beslow: "Siobhan is a very athletic forward. She played the post in high school but we're going to transition her to the perimeter. She has the ability to get out in transition and is a very good defensive player. We're going to work hard to improve her outside shot, but I think she will definitely have an opportunity to impact our program in a very positive way."

Oma-ah Tayong

Oma-ah Tayong (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) is a 6'3 power forward/center from Paul Laurence Dunbar High in Baltimore. She led the Dunbar High School squad to the Maryland 1A State Championship this past season as well as a No. 4 team ranking by the Baltimore Metro/Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore City Senior All-Star recorded 18 double-doubles, averaging 14.2 points per game and 12.8 rebounds per game.

Tayong set career highs for both points scored and rebounds as a senior. She posted a career-best 27 points against Carver Vo-Tech and 29 rebounds against Western High School. She is also an effective shot blocker, leading Dunbar this season with 2.4 rejections per game.

As a junior, Tayong led Dunbar to the Maryland 1A North Region Championship and the 1A State Semifinals. She also played AAU with the Maryland Shooting Stars.

Off the court, Tayong is an honor roll student who also volunteered as a tutor at the Chick Webb Recreation Center.

Coach Williams on Tayong: "Omaah is a strong athletic post player who really has started to grow as a player and is finding herself as a player. She has the ability to finish with either hand in the post and is a very good shot blocker. She's going to provide tremendous depth for us in the post position."

Indigo Dickens

Indigo Dickens (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) also joins the Explorers from the state of Maryland. She is a 6'3 forward to brings size and depth to the Explorer post. Dickens played high school ball at Washington Christian and Montrose Christian before transferring to Wilde Lake, and also competed on the Maryland Panthers club team.

Dickens averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks as a senior at Wilde Lake and was a nominee for the 2010-11 McDonald's All-America Team.

As an underclassman, she led Washington Christian to a MISAL State and Region championship and was awarded the Christian Character Award as a junior.

As a sophomore at Montrose Christian, Dickens was named the team's Most Improved Player.

Dickens also competed with the Maryland Panthers AAU team and on the Wilde Lake track and field team.

She also served as a volunteer for We Feed Our People, an organization with the mission of feeding the homeless.

Coach Williams on Dickens: "Indigo is a big body kid, still learning the game. She's a very hard worker and I just think her ceiling is very high in terms of her improvement level and where she can get to in a very short period of time. She has a great love for the game and she's committed to being a good player. We said we needed some depth in the post and Indigo provides that."