WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University head women’s basketball coach Lynn Ullom announced Thursday that Jordan Stacey has joined the Lady Hilltopper program as a transfer from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.
A native of Newark, Ohio, the 5-10 Stacey was a starting guard for the NCAA Division II Tritons this past winter, averaging 7.4 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds a game.
“We recruited Jordan very hard coming out of high school,” Ullom said, “and we’re really looking forward to having her as part of the West Liberty family for her final two seasons. She will be a quality addition to our program on and off the court.”
Stacey scored 284 points and grabbed 261 rebounds in 52 career games at Eckerd.
A key reserve as a freshman, she made quite a first impression with 23 points and 10 rebounds in her collegiate debut against Webber International.
She moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore this past winter and quickly emerged as a key performer on several fronts. By the end of the season, Stacey had been Eckerd’s leading rebounder in 14 of the team’s 25 games. She also had game highs in scoring (one), assists (6), steals (5) and blocked shots (4).
“We loved her versatility,” Ullom said. “Jordan can help you in so many ways. She’s a big guard who can play four different positions and be productive at every one of them.”
She hard-working backcourter posted two more double-doubles as a sophomore, notching 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a career-high 4 steals against Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Nov. 27, 2009 and collecting 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 18, 2009.
She scored a season-high 22 points against Lynn on Feb. 20, 2010, which included a career-high 4 3-point field goals. She handed out a career-high 7 assists against West Alabama on Dec. 5, 2009 and had a career-high 4 blocked shots at No. 17-ranked Tampa on Feb. 17, 2010.
Stacey was a three-year starter during a stellar high school career at Newark (Ohio) Catholic. She was a first-team All-League, All-District and All-Area selection on the court and was also a Scholar-Athlete nominee by the Columbus Dispatch. As a senior, she led the county in assists and ranked among the leaders in scoring, rebounding and steals. The multi-sport standout also excelled in volleyball and track and field at Newark Catholic.
“Jordan had pretty good success at Eckerd and she’s really worked hard on her perimeter shooting,” Ullom said, “so she can really create some match-up problems. We’re fortunate to have a veteran group coming back because that will cut down on the time it will take Jordan to pick up on our system.”
Stacey is the final piece of Ullom’s recruiting puzzle for the 2010-11 season. She joins a pair of high school seniors – Westerville (Ohio) South’s Shanae Ash and John Marshall’s Julie Young – as the latest additions to a well-stocked Hilltopper roster.
They will join four starters, nine lettermen and a pair of redshirt freshmen who return from last year’s 22-10 squad which dropped a heartbreaking overtime decision to Fairmont State in the West Virginia Conference tournament championship game and earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region tournament. It was the 12th 20-win season and 10th NCAA Tournament bid in the past 15 seasons for the West Liberty women’s program.
