Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball head coach Steve Brooks announces his first signing for the 2010-2011 basketball season. Leah Whittaker, a four year letter-winner at Princeville (Ill.) High School, has signed a letter of intent to further her education and play basketball at Indiana Wesleyan.
Whittaker, a 6-3 center, averaged 20.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game during her senior season at Princeville. Over the course of her senior season, Whittaker also averaged 2.5 blocks per game and shot 63-percent from the field. For her career, Whittaker tallied 1,364 points and was named First Team All-Lincoln Trail Conference three times. In addition to her success on the basketball court, Whittaker also achieved Academic All-Conference honors in the classroom all four years.
Whittaker said, "The overall friendly and warm environment at IWU is awesome! I love how the whole coaching staff is so supportive and genuinely care about me, not only as a basketball player but also as a student and person. The girls on the team are amazing; they are a lot of fun but also know how to work and I know they will push me to be the absolute best player that I can be. I know that the coaches, the girls and everyone else will help me to grow as a person, athlete and Christian".
"The women's basketball program is excited to announce that Leah has chosen to join the Lady Wildcat program," said Brooks. "Leah brings great size to the IWU program and at 6-3 with long arms, she will have the opportunity to be a difference maker. As a lefty, she has a good touch from 15-feet and in and the strength and footwork to score inside. We feel very fortunate Leah chose to be a part of our program as she could have gone to many mid-major Division I and Division II programs. We look forward to watching Leah grow as a player and a person over the next four years."
The IWU basketball team finished the season 29-7 and ranked No. 7 in the country and qualified for their eighth straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament. The season also included such highlights as winning the program's sixth Mid-Central Conference championship and advancing to the Final Four at the NAIA National Tournament.
