On Thursday, the Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team announced the signing of three student-athletes for the 2012-13 season: Iowa Central Community College transfers Alison Nagel and Rebekah Rolling, and high school senior Annessa Rosch (St. Cloud).
"The Mustang women's basketball team is adding three great players and most importantly three great individuals," SMSU head women's basketball coach Allison Kruger said in a press release.
Nagel, Rolling and Rosch join Mikayla Saathoff (Bruce, S.D.) and Megan DeRuyter (Holland, Minn.) in the Mustangs' recruiting class. Saathoff and DeRuyter signed during the early signing period.
Nagel, a 6-3 forward from Fort Dodge, Iowa, scored 871 points and grabbed 467 rebounds in two years at Iowa Central. Last season, Nagel finished in double-digit scoring for 15 straight games, including an eight-game stretch where she scored 20 or more points.
"Alison put up big numbers this season and brings us much needed size in the post," Kruger said. "She has very good hands and feet for a 6-foot-3 player, with great touch around the rim. Alison will be tough to defend because of her size and her ability to be a deep shooting threat."
Rolling, a 5-9 guard from Bancroft, Iowa, finished with 839 points, 282 rebounds and 178 assists in two seasons for Iowa Central. She also played softball at the junior college.
"Rebekah has excellent court vision and is a tremendous passer," Kruger said. "She brings athleticism to our team and can be deadly from 3-point range. Rebekah is capable of being a lock-down defender because of her quick hands, which will help create easy opportunities for our offense."
Rosch, a 5-3 guard, was a four-year letterwinner at St. Cloud Tech. She finished as the school's all-time leader in points (1,345), averaging 18 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and five steals per game in her senior season. The last two seasons, she was coached by former Marshall and St. Cloud State standout Sascha Hansen.
"Annessa is a player that has natural leadership qualities and a passion that is hard to find in athletes," Kruger said. "She will give us depth at the point guard position and is very good at getting her teammates involved. She is also deadly from the 3-point line and hit some big shots for her team this year. At the end of the game Annessa is the type of player that you want on the court because she will make big plays and isn't afraid of pressure situations."