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Women's Basketball

Lions Welcome Three More for 2010-11

April 15, 2010

Click here to read about LMU's fall signees.
Click here to view all LMU signees in all sports.

LOS ANGELES - Size and leadership are the focal points of the final three pieces of LMU women's basketball's 2010 signing class, as Head Coach Julie Wilhoit announced Thursday the addition Hillary Drinovsky, Mackenzie Kerins, and Christina "Dani" LeNoir to the LMU program. Drinovsky and Kerins bring size to LMU's front-line while Washington State transfer LeNoir will jump in to the point guard spot. The trio links up with LMU's early signees, Hazel Ramirez, Alexis Love, and Melinda Gomez, who continue to garner high school awards after committing to the Lions back in November.

Two of LMU's previous signees, Ramirez and Gomez, recently capped their high school careers with major awards. Ramirez, a 5-5 point guard from Inglewood, was named the CIF Division 3AA Southern Section Player of the Year as a senior while earning the same honor from the Daily Breeze for the second straight season. Ramirez is ranked 42nd nationally among point guards according to Hoopgurlz.com. The 5-10 Gomez also earned postseason honors after her senior season at South Hills High School in Covina, gaining a place on the All-CIF Division 3A First Team for the second season in a row as well as being named to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune First Team.

"This is a very exciting day for LMU women's basketball to be able to bring in three student-athletes who are highly motivated and high achievers to go along with our previous three commits who continue to excel," Wilhoit said. "We have added much-needed size inside with Hillary and Mac and a great point guard in Dani. We welcome them to our Lion family and look forward to them joining our program."

Hillary Drinovsky


LMU's newest high school signees should fit right in with Love, the 6-2 center from Norwalk, to give the Lions a formidable front line for years to come. Drinovsky, a 6-3 forward/center, comes to LMU from Long Beach Millikan High School, the same program that produced former Lion All-West Coast Conference performer Cassady Moore. Drinovsky is currently the 74th-ranked forward on Hoopgurlz.com aftter leading her team to the CIF 1AA Quarterfinals. Drinovsky averaged 10.2 ppg, 13.8 rpg, and 4.7 bpg as a senior.

"Hillary brings great size, a hard-nosed attitude, and a great athletic body to our post play," Wilhoit said. "She has tremendous rebounding ability and is a defensive specialist. I think our fans are going to be fired up to watch her play defense. What also sets her apart is that she has great court vision for a big and that makes her a great passer and offensive threat. We were attracted to her work ethic and commitment to physical fitness and strength. I've never seen a high school athlete who is more committed to her physical strength and conditioning training than Hillary."

"I fell in love with the team, coaches and campus on my visit and I know this is a place where I will be successful," Drinovsky said. "During my time at LMU I plan to win lots of championships and to prepare for my future as a lawyer."

Joining Drinovsky and Love in the frontcourt will be Kerins, a 6-2 forward from South Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore. Fresh off being named the Southwest Conference Player of the Year, Kerins averaged 16.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 2.2 bpg in leading her team to an undefeated conference slate and the Oregon state 6A tournament semifinals. Kerins has also been named First Team All-State, First Team All-State Tournament, and to the Oregon All-Star Team.

Mackenzie Kerins


"LMU has a great feel and the support I would need to have to get into law school," Kerins said. "I felt how close the team was and want to make sure I challenge myself in a way that will get me prepared for everything I want to do in life."

"My first thought about Mac is that she is under the radar and was an unbelievable find for us," Wilhoit said. "She is a very good athlete who runs the floor as well as any guard. What drew us to Mac was her ability to score inside and her drive and passion to be a great offensive rebounder. She also brings strong leadership and it shined through by leading her team to the Oregon state tournament."

Another Pacific Northwest transplant will land in Southern California as LeNoir returns to her hometown after two seasons at Washington State. LeNoir appeared in 56 games in her two seasons in Pullman, averaging 2.9 ppg, 1.5 apg, and 1.4 spg this past year. In transferring to LMU, the 5-6 point guard comes back to Los Angeles, where she was a standout at Narbonne High School, where she earned First Team All-Marine League honors and won league championships in all four of her years while being a McDonald's All-America nominee and an Honorable Mention All-America by The Sporting News.

"Dani is an extremely quick and aggressive defender but what is most impressive is her point guard skills: passing, directing, and leading a team," Wilhoit said. "Her two years of Pac-10 experience playing against high-level experience, leadership and poise on the court is exactly what we need and have been looking for in the point guard spot. We have watched her play against some of the country's best teams at Washington State and she not only competed but excelled against those teams."

"I chose to come to LMU for so many different reasons: the opportunity for both a great academic and basketball experience, a beautiful campus in Southern California, and to be close to my family," LeNoir said. "Getting a well-rounded college experience and a chance to obtain a degree from one of the most highly respected universities in California were two of my goals. I was blown away by how caring and committed the coaching staff is. They really made me feel like I could be part of the LMU family. I'm excited to be a part of a very strong women's basketball program and I look forward to contributing to their long tradition of success."

Dani LeNoir


"Hillary, Mac, and Dani are all attracted to what LMU offers them athletically and academically and they will carry on the strong tradition that has been set before them," Wilhoit said. " We are blessed to have found this caliber of kid late in the signing period. I give a tremendous amount of credit to my coaching staff for spending countless hours evaluating the national talent pool to find these special players who will help us pursue our goal of a West Coast Conference championship." - GO LIONS -
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Players Mentioned

Cassady Moore

#11 Cassady Moore

Guard
5' 7"
Sophomore
1V

Players Mentioned

Cassady Moore

#11 Cassady Moore

5' 7"
Sophomore
1V
Guard