ESPANOLA, NM - Northern women’s basketball program is excited to announce their 2011 recruiting class. Head coach, Christina Jost, stated, “We are thrilled to have these six young ladies join our program. I am confident they all will be great fits here at Northern and become strong positive advocates for our program and Northern New Mexico College in the future. This is an exciting day for Northern women’s basketball.”

The six student-athletes that will attend Northern this 2011 fall semester are: Kaeli Ballain of El Paso, TX, Chelsea Canham of Tuscon, AZ, Lavencie Cayaditto of Cuba, NM, Dorsheka Lopez of El Paso, TX, Karina Mitchell of Las Cruces, NM, and Michelle Montes of El Paso, TX. They will join 10 returners from the 2010-2011 season, 8 who hail from New Mexico, 1 from Arizona, and 1 from California.

“With the addition of these six student-athletes, our program will look to continue in making strides in building a sound foundation for Northern women’s basketball. These six young ladies will be called upon to make immediate impacts and help build a first class program with a strong sense of pride and tradition here at Northern New Mexico College,” stated Jost.

This 2011 recruiting class includes student-athletes who have won state titles, earned All-Region honors, All-District honors, Player of the Year honors, and team captain honors.

Two of the six student-athletes are New Mexico residents. Lavencie Cayaditto is from Cuba, NM and Karina Mitchell is from Las Cruces, NM. “Lavencie and Karina both had wonderful high school careers here in New Mexico. We will look to them both to continue their stellar play here in New Mexico at Northern, and hopefully bring their outstanding work ethic and dedication to the hardwood at Eagle Memorial Gymnasium,” stated Jost.

The other four student-athletes are from Arizona and Texas. Chelsea Canham resides in Tuscon, AZ, while Kaeli Ballain, Dorsheka Lopez, and Michelle Montes are all from El Paso, TX. “Eagle women’s basketball is excited to have these four young ladies join our program. Chelsea and Michelle will be asked to fill a void in the paint right away and I’m confident both of them are up to the challenge. Both Kaeli and Sheka will bring high basketball IQ’s and sound fundamentals to our wing areas and provide strong defense,” commented Jost.

Northern women’s basketball will open up the 2011-2012 season on their home floor in the 2nd Annual Santa Claran Classic, which will be held on Friday, October 28th and Saturday, October 29th.