The Seton Hall women's basketball team recently acquired transfer Tarjay Ashmeade, a 6-foot-3-inch junior center, for the upcoming season. The roster update was announced by new head coach Anne Donovon Friday.
"Her size will help us greatly on defense and on the glass, as she possesses the physical tools to compete against the kind of post players we will face in the Big East," Donovan said, according to SHUPirates.com. "Tarjay also has great athleticism and the ability to run the floor, which will add an important dimension to our roster."
Ashmeade was born in Jamaica and grew up in Bronx, N.Y. while she attended The Frederick Douglass Academy in Manhattan.
She made the decision to transfer to Seton Hall after spending the previous season playing at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas.
Her 50 percent field goal percentage with Trinity Valley helped the Lady Cards to reach a 29-6 record which landed them in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association Women's National Basketball Tournament.
Additionally, she will compete for the Jamaica senior national women's basketball team as it strives to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London. The Centro Basket Tournament is scheduled for July 10-14 in Puerto Rico during which the top four teams will advance to the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, the last qualifier for the Olympics.
Joining Ashmeade on what could be a London-bound team is Simone Edwards, who coincidentally was a member of Donovan's 2004 Seattle Storm team that won the WNBA championship.
Ashmeade said it was the coaching staff that drew her to Seton Hall. "(Donovan's) ability to develop post players will help me take my game to the next level," she said, according to SHUPirates.com.
Gabrielle Kiger can be reached at gabrielle.kiger@student.shu.edu.
