Canisius women’s basketball coach Terry Zeh has announced that Lauraine Joensen (Northampton, Mass), Anndea Zeigler (Buffalo, N.Y.), Danielle Sanderlin (Williamstown N.J.), and Olivia Vernon (Gilbert, Ariz.) have all signed National Letters of Intent, to join the Golden Griffin women’s basketball program starting with the 2017-18 season.
Joensen, a 6-foot-2 forward out of Northamton High School, was a 2015-16 Western Massachusetts Super 7 award recipient. She was also a two-time Western Massachusetts division I first-team selection in 2014-15 and 2015-2016. Joensen also holds the honor of being the highest female single-game scorer in the state of Massachusetts during the 2015-16 season, recording 48 points.
“She’s a typical European player where she’s really skilled,” Zeh said. “She can handle and pass, and shoot the three. She has a nice touch all-around the basket. She’s really working hard right now on her strength and conditioning and her core strength to transition to the next level but she fits motion so well.”
Canisius adds another guard to the fold with Zeigler. The 5-foot-9 guard, who has played for local high school, Cardinal O’Hara, now has the chance to play college ball in front of friends and family. Zeigler is a two-time All-Western New York First-Team selection, as well as the 2015-16 Monsignor Martin Association Co-Player of the Year. Zeigler has proved to be a prolific high school scorer, reaching the 1,000-point plateau in her junior season. In 2015-16 the Buffalo, N.Y., native averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds per game and 3.1 steals per game.
“She’s probably the best player in Buffalo in her class and we’re excited about that,” Zeh said. “She brings an absolute explosiveness athletically. She is very skilled, she can shoot the basketball and handle the basketball and can defend along the perimeter as well as we’ve had in a long time. She’s very fast for our conference and for us, we haven’t had someone this fast in a long time.”
Also joining the team next season will Danielle Sanderlin out of Williamstown, N.J., The 6-foot guard/forward comes to the Griffs after playing for Gloucester Catholic. Sanderlin was a 2015-16 CAL Girls All-Star team member. She was also a 2016 Tri-Country conference first-team selection, and a 2016 All-Tournament team selection. Sanderlin enters her senior season at Gloucester with 711 rebounds.
“She’s got a tremendous motor,” Zeh said. “She’s that “tweener” player that can play inside and outside, she’s very skilled, and can shoot the ball with a great little pull-up. She also has a great nose for getting rebounds with a tough, tough mentality. She brings that really gritty, go-get-the-rebound type of mentality when she gets on the court. “
Canisius also recruited a player from out West, with Olivia Vernon, joining the team from Gilbert, Ariz., joining the fold. The Perry High School product is a two-time All-Chandler Unified School District first-team member, and the 2016 Perry single sport female scholar athlete of the year. The 5-foot-7 guard averaged 16.7 points per game, and 6.1 rebounds per game in 2015-16. She is also ranked third in 3-point percentage in division I Arizona high school girl’s basketball.
“We saw her play with her AAU team in the summer and we just loved her,” Zeh said. “She has a great tenacity about her, on both sides of the ball. She’s bouncy and has a great athleticism. She can also shoot the three and is a very competitive player. We’re fortunate she’s going to come and be a Griff next year.”
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