MARSHALL, Minn. - Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball head coach
Allison Kruger announced today that guard
Airelle Eldridge from Iowa Western Community College has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at SMSU.
Eldridge is the latest addition to the 2010-11 recruiting class. She is the seventh student-athlete who will join the Mustangs this season.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Eldridge is a 5-foot-9 guard who played the last two seasons at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Eldridge will have two years of eligibility remaining at SMSU.
Eldridge was named to the academic all-region team at Iowa Western in each of her two seasons. She averaged 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. She shot 74 percent from the floor and averaged two assists and a steal a game. Eldridge was also named second-team all-region in 2009.
Head coach
Allison Kruger is eager to add Eldridge to the 2010 roster.
“Airelle is a great player that will give us depth and experience at the guard position for the next two years,” Kruger said. “She is a tremendous athlete that can get to the rim and is also able to score from the outside.”
Eldridge is a 2008 graduate of Lansdowne High School in Baltimore, Md. There, Eldridge was a four-year starter and averaged 21.3 points per game her senior year. She was selected as team offensive player of the year in 2008 along with being named the team MVP.
“She was a great all-around player for IWCC last season and we expect her to do the same for us this year,” Kruger said. “Airelle has been known to hit big shots in big games and we are excited to have her join our program.”
Southwest Minnesota State University, located in Marshall, is a member of NCAA Division II and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. SMSU finished 15-12 this past season, recording the program's first winning season in four years. Kruger enters her first season as head coach of the women's basketball team in 2010-11. She was named head coach on April 7 of this year.
