Women's Basketball Adds Six Newcomers to 2024-25 Roster
LIMA, OH - The University of Northwestern Ohio women's basketball head coach Matt Vavro has announced six newcomers to the 2024-25 recruiting class, as Morgyn Rose (Huber Heights, OH), Ameia Smith (North Canton, OH), Ameena Muhammad (Phoenix, AZ), Danajah Peterson (Miami, FL), Evette Lansing (Shiprock, NM), and Jonaysia Clark (Mays Landing, NJ) will join the Racers for the upcoming season.
Morgyn Rose l Guard l Huber Heights, Ohio
Rose was a 4-year varsity player at Wayne High School where her senior year they won a sectional championship. Rose was a three-time Second Team Greater Western Ohio Athletic Conference selection and a two-time Southwest District Honorable Mention.
Vavro on Rose: Morgyn played a pivotal role on her Wayne team where she led the team in scoring in the sectional championship game. Morgyn is a very physical guard and has the ability to shoot the ball from deep range. Her skill-set will play an important role in our system. We are thrilled she is joining the Racer family!
Ameia Smith l Forward l North Canton, Ohio
Smith joins the Racers after spending three seasons at St. Thomas Aquinas high school where in 2021-22 she received District 4 honorable mention and during the 22-23 season she was named to the All-Stark County Team honorable mention, District 4 First Team, Northeast Inland District honorable mention and Division IV defensive player of the year recognition. Smith was a four-year letterman and an OHSBCA district 4 all-star.
Vavro on Smith: Ameia is a very hungry player who is coming off an injury. We believe her best basketball is in front of her. She is extremely long and mobile and will most definitely make her mark with her ability to alter and block shots and protect the paint. We are extremely happy that she has decided to join our program!
Ameena Muhammad l Guard/Forward l Phoenix, AZ
Muhammad comes to UNOH following stints at Phoenix College and Cochise College. Ameena spent the 2023-24 season playing for one of the top junior college programs in the country where she played for Coach Opat at Cochise College. Cochise advanced to the sweet sixteen of the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament where they fell to eventual National Champion Hutchinson Community College. Ameena started 22 games and scored a season high 21 points vs Phoenix College.
Vavro on Muhammad: Ameena is a spectacular athlete that will fit our fast-paced transition style of basketball perfectly. Her ability to guard any position and her ability to get to the basket will pay huge dividends for us. We can't wait to coach Ameena on the court in the near future!
Danajah Peterson l Guard l Miami, Florida
Peterson joins the Racers following an All-Conference sophomore season at Southeastern Community College where she led her team in scoring, averaging just under 14 points a game that included a season high of 25 points on two different occasions. She also collected a season high 18 rebounds at Spoon River. Prior to playing collegiately, Peterson played at Miami Senior High School where her team advanced to the state tournament in all four years she attended.
Vavro on Peterson: Danajah has a scorer's mentality and is a three-level scorer. We believe it will be a smooth transition for her learning our system. We are looking forward to Danajah joining us on campus very soon!
Evette (Sharkey) Lansing l Forward l Shiprock, New Mexico
Evette (Sharkey) comes to UNOH having three years of experience playing college basketball where she had her best season during her Freshman year averaging twelve points and seven rebounds per game at Trinidad State Junior College. She was named to the Region 9 All-Defensive team. Prior to college, Lansing received First Team All-District recognition playing at Shiprock High School.
Vavro on Lansing: Evette (Sharkey) is a very versatile forward that affects the game at both ends of the court. She causes problems defensively with her size. Evette has valuable experience playing collegiate basketball and we believe she has the ability to make a big impact this upcoming season. We are thrilled that she chose to be a Racer!
Jonaysia Clark l Guard l Mays Landing, New Jersey
Clark joins the Racers after spending two years at Rowan College where her team advanced to the national tournament and she averaged twelve points a game. During her freshman year, Clark received GSAC first team honors. Prior to college, Jonaysia also received First Team All-League recognition at Oakcrest high school where she scored over 1,300 points.
Vavro on Clark: Jonaysia is another player whose athleticism we were really high on and her experience playing on a team that advanced to the national tournament we feel will really help as our program looks to take the next step forward. She is a great teammate and works extremely hard. We're super excited to have her join our basketball family!
The Lady Racers will also be bringing back seven players from the 2023-24 roster including First Team All-Conference guard Alysia Lawson who averaged just under 23 points a game and All-Freshman guard Olivia Thompson who averaged ten points a game.
Vavro's Thoughts: Our program is extremely excited to have all of our newcomers on campus this fall, and we can't wait to get to work ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. We are confident that this class of newcomers will blend well with our returners and will no doubt add size and athleticism to our group.
Third-year Head Coach Matt Vavro took over the Racer program in September of 2022 inheriting a team with just seven varsity players that were coming off a three-win season. The Racers were predicted to finish last in the WHAC in the 2022-23 preseason poll. Despite those predictions, UNOH had a great year finishing seventh in the WHAC, the best finish since the 15-16 season. That team's eight WHAC victories was the most conference wins since 2016 and the lady racers nine home victories was the most since 2014. That season, the team increased their offensive production by 23 points averaging 70 points per game and set numerous program records. The 13 overall wins more than quadrupled the previous year's win total and the Racers earned a postseason bid for the first time since 2018, falling to national tournament qualifier Siena Heights in double-overtime. Last season, the program produced another double-digit win campaign setting more records along the way.
UNOH will open the 2024-25 season at The Garage on Halloween night taking on Ohio Christian.