Aisha Mohammed Signs With Virginia

Story Links

May 25, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia women’s basketball team has received a National Letter of Intent from Aisha Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria), head coach Debbie Ryan announced on Thursday. One of the top junior college players in the nation, the All-American will attend UVa and play basketball for the Cavaliers next season.

“We are very pleased to have Aisha Mohammed joining our program for the upcoming season,” Ryan said. “Aisha is a strong, athletic post player who will make an immediate impact on our program. She has been coached by Lin Larsen who is a legend in the game of women’s basketball. Aisha will add much needed depth and a true center to the post position at Virginia.”

A 6-3 left-handed center, Mohammed averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field as a sophomore at Central Arizona College last season. On Dec. 18, 2005, Mohammed selected the ACCAC Women’s Basketball Division 1 Player of the Week. She helped the Lady Vaqueras remain unbeaten by scoring 22 points and pulling in 17 rebounds in a 91-46 win over Mesa. She then dropped 33 points and 11 rebounds on Glendale in a 126-46 victory over the Lady Gauchos. Named the national tournament MVP, Mohammed helped defending national champion Central Arizona to a perfect 28-0 record in the regular season and No. 1 NJCAA national ranking. The squad advanced to the 2006 national semifinals. Mohammed was named a first-team Kodak/WBCA All-American in 2006.

In international play, Mohammed played for Nigeria in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. In the game for 12th place, Mohammed had 13 boards and eight points in the win over Korea. With the victory, Nigeria became the first team from Africa to win an Olympic game.

Mohammed picked UVa over Arizona State, Florida, and Oklahoma State. She joins Jayna Hartig (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Paulisha Kellum (Upper Marlboro, Md.), and Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) who signed with Virginia in November.

2006 VIRGINIA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNEES

Player		Ht.	Pos.	Hometown		High School	PPG	RPG	Jayna Hartig	6-1	F	Highlands Ranch, Colo.	ThunderRidge	13.0	6.2Paulisha Kellum	5-8	G	Upper Marlboro, Md.	Bishop McNamara	8.1	-Aisha Mohammed	6-3	C	Lagos, Nigeria		Zang Secondary	22.0	11.0Monica Wright	5-11	G	Woodbridge, Va.		Forest Park	18.9	9.0