Women's Basketball Signs Two For 2012-13

Stockton, Calif. – The Pacific women's basketball team received commitments from two student-athletes on Thursday, head coach Lynne Roberts announced. Ande Lampert and Saidah Allen will join the Tigers for the 2012-13 season.

"Both Ande and Saidah give us needed punch to our front court," Roberts said. "Ande brings us legitimate size and post presence, and Saidah gives us instant toughness and athleticism in the paint.  From the moment they both stepped foot on our campus during the recruiting process, we felt that they were great fits for our basketball program and our University.  Having only 1 graduating senior this year in Christina Thompson, we knew we had to be selective and bring in the best two players we possibly could.  With Ande and Saidah, we certainly did just that.  I'm really excited about our future and the direction things are headed."

Lampert, a 6-4 center, will join the Tigers from Boulder, Colo., where she averaged 11.1 points per game and nine rebounds per contest for Boulder High School last season as a junior. She also tallied 3.5 blocked shots per game last season, which led the entire state, at all divisions, and also played AAU ball for Kim Thompson's Boulder Rockies.

The All-League selection is ranked in the top 65 at her position by ESPN and top 50 by The Sporting News. She was named Pre-Season All-America Honorable Mention by The Sporting News, one of three Colorado seniors to earn the honor, joining Katie Heckman (Duke) and Lauren Higgins (Colorado).

"Ande is a great addition to our program.  She is a legitimate 6-4 post that does all the little things very well – she is a great shot blocker, runs the floor well, plays hard, is an excellent post passer, and has a nice mid-range jump shot," said Roberts. "I think she can be a legitimate post presence for us in the Big West. She is also a fantastic student and is a tremendous fit to our program and University."

Allen, a 6-0 forward, graduated last season from Piedmont High School in Oakland, where she averaged 22.3 points per game and 19.2 rebounds per contest. She will transfer to Pacific in January 2012 from Fresno State.  

In addition to playing for Kelly Sopak with the Cal Stars AAU program, Allen was named the NorCal Preps California Division IV Player of the Year in 2010-11 at Piedmont, which has produced Division I women's basketball players such as Courtney and Ashley Paris of Oklahoma and Casey Morris of Texas Tech. Allen will be the second NorCal Preps Player of the Year on the Tigers Roster, joining Division V honoree and current Pacific freshman guard Hallie Eackles.

"We are extremely excited about Saidah coming to Pacific," Roberts said. "Her statistics speak for themselves, having led the state in rebounds averaging more than 19 a game, as well as scoring 22 points a game.  Saidah is going to be able to step in and contribute immediately for us, giving us a tremendous boost in rebounding and aggressiveness in the paint.  We are very excited to get her in a Pacific uniform."

The Tigers open the 2011-12 campaign on Sunday, Nov. 13, at Fairfield, in a 10 am PT contest before visiting No. 4 UConn on Tuesday, Nov. 15.