IU adds two for 2013-14 class

IU women’s basketball coach Curt Miller said during the season that he would build an Indiana program with shooters, and he wanted native Indiana girls to fill that role.

Miller added two more Indiana-raised players to his roster for next season Thursday with the addition of incoming freshman Jennifer Anderson and senior transfer Tabitha Gerardot.

Gerardot comes to the Hoosiers after three years at Valparaiso. The Ft. Wayne native will be eligible to play next season, as she is graduating from Valparaiso later this month.

Gerardot led the Crusaders in scoring each of the past two seasons. Last year, the 6-1 forward averaged 15.5 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game. During her three years at Valpo, she started 91 of 93 games, and scored 1,215 points while recording 723 rebounds.

Only 23 Hoosiers have reached the 1,000-point plateau during their IU careers.

“Tabitha will be an excellent addition to our program next year,” Miller said in a release. “She is a proven and productive collegiate power forward. She has a versatile skill set allowing her to play facing the basket but also the toughness to play inside. Tabitha will also bring leadership to our young roster that will include 10 freshmen and sophomores. Tabitha has great character and will represent the Hoosier Nation on and off the court and we are pleased that she wanted to end her career in an IU uniform.”

Anderson, an incoming freshman from Westfield High School and a Noblesville native, will play in the Indiana All-Star game this summer. She will be the fourth player on the roster to have done that, joining freshman guard Kaila Hulls, freshman forward Jocelyn Mousty and junior guard Andrea Newbauer.

At Westfield, she led her team to a 77-13 record. She averaged 18 points and 8.3 rebounds during her senior year. For her career, she set school records in scoring with 1,571 points and 873 rebounds.

“Jenn is a talented center with great fundamentals,” Miller said in a release. “She had a highly decorated high school career and will soon be participating in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series. Jenn has consistently put up impressive numbers including an outstanding career field goal percentage. She brings depth to our postgame and a physical presence which is needed in the Big Ten.”

Before the additions of these two post players IU had four returning post players. The team received news last week that 6-4 center Sasha Chaplin is eligible for a sixth year. The team played most of last season with just four post players, as Mousty redshirted.

Prior to the addition of Anderson, the recruiting class was already ranked in the top 30 by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. That class also includes incoming freshmen Taylor Agler, Larryn Brooks, Alexis Gassion, Lyndsay Leikem and Karlee McBride.

The roster will now have 16 players available to play. Last year, the team played much of the season with just eight players, only seven of which were on scholarship. Last year’s redshirts Hulls, Mousty and forward Claire Jakubicek will also be available in the fall.

—Robby Howard