Women's College Basketball
Rider Adds Two

LAWRENCEVILLE--Rider University women's basketball head coach Lynn Milligan has announced the signing of Taylor Wentzel to a National Letter of Intent and that Lashay Banks will transfer to Rider from the University of Cincinnati.

Signing the NLI, Wentzel enrolls at Rider as a member of the Class of 2016 and Banks joins the Broncs from the Bearcats (Big East) as a junior after sitting out the 2012-13 season as a transfer.

"Through the hard work of my staff, we are very fortunate to add two exceptional young ladies to our program," said Milligan who will be in her sixth season at Rider in 2012-13.  "Taylor and Lashay are terrific people with high character and talent; exactly what we want in our program.  They both have a passion and a competitive nature with a desire to be great."

Wentzel, a 5-7 point guard, comes to Lawrenceville from Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, averaging 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while leading the Highlanders to the WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) semifinals. 

"Taylor is a truly versatile guard that can do many things for us," Milligan said.  "She will be a great addition to our guard group and give us tremendous depth as we move to next season."

Wentzel was named to the Pittsburgh Gazette's South Fab Five squad while also earning high academic honors.

Banks, a 5-10 guard originally out of Prep Charter in Philadelphia, played 45 games for the Bearcats over two seasons, averaging 0.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest.

"We are thrilled Lashay has decided to join our Rider family," Milligan said.  "This is a young lady we recruited very hard a couple of years ago.  She is a player that has a passion for the game, can score, run and defend.  She will be a great addition to our system and team."

Banks was the Philadelphia Public League Female Player of the Year as a senior at Prep Charter (2009-10) and was a four-time All-Public League selection, scoring 987 points.

"Lashay having to sit out next season will be a great advantage to her and us," Milligan added.  "She will be a vital piece to practice every day and her game will continue to grow and mature."

Wentzel and Banks join Janine Loutzenhiser from Orinda, California and Mikal Johnson from Manassas, Virginia as the newest members of the Rider women's basketball team.

Rider had the best non-conference record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2011-12 (8-3) and the Broncs won 10 of their first 15 games, the best start for the program in 18 seasons.

Rider returns 10 letterwinners in 2012-13.

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