MonticelloLive

The 2008 women’s basketball recruiting class at the University of Arkansas at Monticello has improved with the addition of four players to join the team in 2009.

“The first three players I signed are great players and ones that will make an immediate impact,” said third-year head coach Chris Ratcliff. “If there is one area that coaches always say is in need of improvement, it is depth…I feel that I have succeeded with the all of the seven future Cotton Blossoms so far.”
 
The 2007-08 season was easily the best season since the 1998-99 season, when current UAM athletics director Alvy Early led UAM to a 16-8 overall record. The great news for Ratcliff is only three of his key players (one starter) from this past season will not be returning.
 
“We are going to have players back next year that ate up a lot of minutes this year,” Ratcliff said. “Knowing that, I had to find players that can fit this system perfectly - either immediate impact players, or role players…I think I have signed a good mixture of both.”
 
The first of the group of four players to recently sign is Jasmine Larry (5-10, G, Tupelo, Miss.).
 
Larry will join the Blossoms after playing two seasons at Itawamba Community College where she played in all 30 games during this past season, aiding the Lady Indians to a north division title and the first state championship for the program since 1975.
 
As a sophomore, she averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game while connecting on 72 of 100 attempts from the free throw line. These numbers earned her a spot in the annual MACJC All-Star game in April.
 
“Jasmine is a dynamic player,” Ratcliff commented. “She is a big guard that is extremely athletic and long…She causes so many match up problems with her ability to shoot over smaller guards and her quickness to get past bigger defenders…She had several D1 offers, so I feel very fortunate to land her…Coach (Staci) Cooper and I had to outwork a lot of people to get her.”
 
The second most recent player to sign is Raven Jones (5-10, F, Fordyce, Ark.).
 
Jones joins the UAM program after an impressive high school career for the Lady Red Bugs, including a senior season average of 17.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
 
Those numbers earned her All-State, All-Conference and All-District honors.
 
“Raven is an outstanding player,” Ratcliff commented. “Not only is she an Arkansas player, she is a local talent as well…She is another big guard who is versatile enough to play other positions…She is going to be a very good player in the GSC.”
 
The third player that recently signed is Nicole Lowe (5-5, PG, Jackson, Miss.)
 
Lowe joins the team after a productive two-year career at Pearl River Community College. This past season, she averaged 9.3 points, four rebounds and seven assists per game on her way to being selected to the All-State second team.
 
“Nicole is a very smart point guard,” Ratcliff commented. “She loves to push the ball and play my style of basketball…She plays very unselfish…She finds the play-makers…She will be a fan favorite because she plays hard for the entire 40 minutes.”
 
The last of the most recent commits is Monica Perkins-Miller (5-10, F, Houston, Texas).
 
Perkins-Miller joins UAM after an impressive two seasons at San Jacinto Junior College, most recently landing a spot on the NJCAA Region 14 All-Conference Team.
 
In her two seasons at SJJC, she averaged a double-double of 12.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
 
“Monica plays like Ben Wallace from the NBA,” Ratcliff said. “She could be one of the great rebounders to come through UAM in a while…She has an innate ability to always find the basketball…Not only can she hit the boards hard, she is versatile enough to play all five positions on the floor.”
 
“This makes seven so far for this year’s recruiting class,” Ratcliff said of the group as a whole. “With these signings, I feel that we have definitely filled our needs for next year…When you sign players, you want to make sure they fit into your system. They have to be players that can excel in your program…I feel that these players will fit perfectly here at UAM.”