LMU women's basketball head coach
Charity Elliott is thrilled to announce that Aspyn Adams, Khari Clark, Ciera Ellington, Esther Oluade and Laura Vaida have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Lion program as part of the Class of 2023.
"We couldn't be happier to welcome these five young ladies into the LMU Lion family," Elliott said. "They are each very unique and gifted and will bring tremendous passion, talent and grit to our program. We knew this was an important class as the seniors this year have been so critical to building this program. And honestly, we feel like these new signees are exactly what we needed to continue the success of this program. We have brought in competitors, scorers, tremendous defenders and GREAT teammates. This is a GREAT day to be a Lion! Please welcome Aspyn, Khari, Ciera, Esther and Laura to the Bluff."
Adams is from Spokane, Wash., and attends high school at Mt. Spokane. She is a guard known for her sharp-shooting abilities. She made 99 3-pointers in her sophomore season, breaking a Washington state record. She has played AAU for the Northwest Blazers and will major in science at LMU.
"Aspyn was our first commit in this class," Elliott said. "We targeted her early because we knew we needed a shooter and we got one. Aspyn is a very dedicated and hardworking gym rat and will stretch the floor because of her shooting prowess. She is the epitome of a "zone buster"
Khari Clark is a forward from Denver, Colo. currently attending Thomas Jefferson High School. She has played AAU for the Northwest Blazers, ECBA and Houston Skyrise. She plans to major in Chemistry at LMU.
"Khari is a tough, dedicated post player who has an unbelievable upside," Elliott said. "She is going to grow and develop so quickly because she's determined to become the best that she can be. She is athletic, can run the floor and rebounds and has nice touch around the basket. We just can't wait to work with her and watch her grow!"
Ellington is a guard from Portland, Ore. who was raised in Oklahoma City. She currently attends Benson Polytechnic High School will major in health and human sciences at LMU.
"Ciera is a strong, lefty player who can play the 1-4 positions," Elliott said. "She has great length and defensively can guard anyone on the floor… offensively, she can get to the rim off the dribble, pull up for a jumper or stretch the floor by knocking down a 3. She is very competitive and determined and we have very high expectations from Day 1 for Ciera."
Oluade is a point guard from London, England. She attends high school at City of London Academy where she has averaged 11 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. She will major in finance at LMU.
"Esther comes to us from England and could end up being one of the best on-ball defenders we have ever had," Elliott said. "She is tough and gritty and can get to the rim with ease. She will bring in tremendous international experience and a high basketball IQ to go along with her athleticism. We are so excited she's joining the LMU family."
Laura Vaida is a center from Bucharest, Romania. She played high school at National College in Targoviste and has played for the Romanian National Team for multiple years including participating in the U16 and U18 European Championships. She intends to major in physics at LMU.
"Laura is our other international signee coming to us from Romania," Elliott said. "She is a very skilled finesse post player who can run the floor and rebound like crazy. Her athleticism fits in very well with our style of play both offensively and defensively and we are looking forward to great things from Laura. She's also very competitive and has very high standards for herself both on the court and in the classroom."
LMU is 4-1 so far in 2018-19 and most recently hosted its 21st Annual Thanksgiving Classic. In the tournament, the Lions first lost to Northern Arizona 63-62 on Friday and then defeated Robert Morris 61-53 on Saturday. LMU returns home on Tuesday for a 12 p.m. matchup vs. UC Davis for the team's Education Day.
