Geographically diverse recruiting class brings promising future for Hofstra women’s basketball

Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey never imagined she would recruit someone from Idaho for her fall 2010 recruiting class, but after witnessing the tenacity displayed by Kate Loper during an AAU tournament in the nation's capital, focus quickly shifted to this "gem" from the Gem State. Loper is one of three Hofstra women’s basketball recruits for the 2010/20011 season that Kilburn-Steveskey announced last week, with the trio hailing from a wide cross section of the country that includes the Mountain West, Deep South and South Jersey.

While the 2009/2010 season has just gotten underway, Kilburn-Steveskey is excited about the intangibles that will come from next year’s freshman class that includes Loper (Post Falls, Id.), Ngwanma (Amma) Onyeuku (Fayetteville, Ga.) and Annie Payton (Camden, N.J.). All three players were recruited by major women’s college basketball programs and will have large shoes to fill next year after seniors Sam Brigham and Jess Fuller graduate from Hofstra.

Kilburn-Steveskey actually stumbled upon Loper by accident while she was scouting another player competing in a Washington D.C. AAU tournament. In the last 2:45 of a hotly contested game while the player Kilburn-Steveskey was looking at subbed herself out, Loper stepped up big for the Spokane Stars Girls AAU Basketball Club with a three pointer, two-point field goal and a pair of clutch free throws. “I was going 'wow, this kid is a competitor,” said Kilburn-Steveskey of Loper, who she sees similarities with Brigham in terms of toughness, vocal leadership, three-point range and a quick shooting release.