Tuesday, May 8, 2001

Oregon’s player
of year signs to
play for Wahine

By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

Chelsea Wagner, a 5-foot-10 wing player from Oregon, has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Hawaii.

Wagner was named Oregon 4A state player of the year by the Portland Oregonian newspaper and USA Today following her senior season at Springfield (Ore.) High School. Wagner averaged 21.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in helping Springfield to a third-place finish in the state tournament.

"She's a great scorer. We look for her to play Crystal Lee's spot," said Hawaii head coach Vince Goo. "With April Atuaia, Karena Greeny, Christa Brossman and Jade Apelle (a fall signee who started school in January), Chelsea has solidified things for us at the wing position.

"Chelsea is a good ballhandler and an aggressive rebounder. She is pretty good on defense, but needs some work. She just loves basketball."

Wagner visited the UH campus last weekend, one week after taking a recruiting trip to Indiana University. She also visited Eastern Washington and was being recruited by Baylor, Tulsa, UC Santa Barbara, Portland State and Colorado State.

"During her visit, she showed a lot of interest in academics, which is an important part of our program," Goo said.

Arijana Sijercic, a 6-2 post player from Bosnia, and Milia Macfarlane, a 5-5 point guard from Punahou School, also signed last fall.

Hawaii has three scholarships left. The late signing period ends May 15.

Goo doesn't anticipate bringing in any more potential recruits before that date because the academic paperwork is not in order yet. He would be able to sign players to financial aid agreements after that date.

Whereas a national letter of intent is binding, a financial aid agreement is not and a recruit could change her mind before attending the first class of the fall semester.

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http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu