By Staff
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame head women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced Wednesday that three of the country's top high school student-athletes have chosen to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Irish, each signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2008.
Natalie Novosel, a 5-11 guard from Lexington, Ky. (Lexington Catholic High School), Erica Solomon, a 6-2 power forward from Oak Park (Detroit Country Day School) and Kellie Watson, a 6-2 small forward from Ionia (Ionia High School) all made their official commitments to the Irish during the early signing period, which began Wednesday and continues through Nov. 21.
All three student-athletes are rated among the top 35 players in the country by various national recruiting services. Although class rankings have yet to be released by most of these outlets, Notre Dame is poised to field a Top 25 recruiting class for the 12th consecutive year, a streak only two other schools in the country (Connecticut and Tennessee) can match.
"I'm very pleased with the group of players we'll be bringing in next season," McGraw said. "Each of these players has some special qualities that are going to mesh very well with our veterans. All three of them are tremendous offensive threats at their respective schools, but they also have the athleticism and skill to be important contributors on defense as well. They're hard-working individuals and should fill some key roles for us in the years ahead. We're looking forward to having all Natalie, Erica and Kellie join us on campus next year."
Ranked 23rd in the latest Associated Press poll and 25th in the current ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, Notre Dame (2-0) has opened its 2007-08 season with emphatic wins at home over Miami-Ohio (98-50) and Western Kentucky (78-59) in the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Irish will return to the hardwood Friday at 7 p.m. (ET) when they take on No. 3 Maryland in the Preseason WNIT semifinals at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md.