LONDON, Ont. - For the second time in less than a month, the Western Mustangs women's basketball program has landed another NCAA Division 1 transfer and former NEDA player.
This time around it comes in the form Jenny Vaughan who will transfer from the Denver University Pioneers of the Sun Belt Conference where she averaged 3.5 points in 17.8 minutes of action per contest as a freshman.
“The addition of Jenny to our program is another significant step for us," said Western women's basketball head coach Stephan Barrie. "Without question she is a great player, but as I recruited her in her high school days, what I always loved about her was the work ethic, the way she plays defence as her No. 1 priority."
"She is a natural leader and another quality person we are happy to welcome to the Western family," he said. "She fits in well with the values we have established in our program."
Vaughan will study biology at Western and eventually hopes to move into kinesiology or food nutrition.
"I felt I needed to make a change, and I thought right away about Western," Vaughan said. "I had an unofficial visit to Western a while ago and loved the campus. I respect Steph and know a lot of the girls on the team. The school is well known academically and has a strong basketball program."
Vaughan has entrenched herself in the basketball community in Canada, and she is a current member of the Junior Women’s National Team. Last year, she competed in the U-18 tournament of the Americas in Buenos Aries, Argentina, where she averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 assists per game in 26 minutes of play. This summer, she will compete with the junior national team at the FIBA U-19 World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
Vaughan said a major factor to come to Western was the close proximity to her family. She's excited her friends and family—parents Gail and Bill, and three younger brothers (Michael, Matthew and Kevin)—will be able to see her play.
"I would love to win a national title with Western, it's always in the back of your mind," she said. "I'm excited to play against players I used to play against a long time ago. It feels good to be back in Ontario."
A talented point guard, Barrie said Vaughan has the ability to "make everyone around her better.”
She's confident she'll be able to make an impact with the Mustangs.
"I want to leave my mark here," she said. "I love to score, make big plays, be a player my teammates can trust and count on, and also give everyone the ball in the right situations."
Along with being a member of NEDA, she was a captain of the Ontario provincial team that won gold in 2005 and 2007, where she was named the tournament MVP. She also played for Hamilton St. Mary’s coach Rich Wesolowski’s senior girls squad in Grade 9 and 10, helping the Crusaders to an OFSAA Gold in 2005.
The Dundas, Ont., native said she is excited to play at Western. But Vaughan must sit out in 2009-10 before she is eligible to play in the CIS.
"It will be tough not playing next year, for sure. But I feel like I can push people in practice and push them like it's a game scenario," Vaughan said. "I can really step it up defensively and make them better so they feel like they're ready in games and then be supportive."
It’s been an important year for Western to recruit with the nearing departure of current starting guard and Mustangs all-time leading scorer Amanda Anderson (Dover Centre, Ont.) and forward Lauren Parkes (London, Ont.). They will both graduate at the end of the 2009-10 season.
“We can’t wait to have Jenny suit up in the fall of 2010, but her leadership and work ethic will also have an impact this year as she practices every day," Barrie said. "Jenny has some very lofty long-term academic goals that she has a chance to get a jump on this year. Schooling was a major part of her decision to come to Western and we want her to succeed to her potential in the classroom.”
