Improving a roster headlined by Gulf Coast Athletic Conference stars Marjorie Bilinski, Dani Holland and Kiely Schork is a tall order.
Coach DoBee Plaisance, however, has done just that.
She’s added a high school guard capable of stardom and two able role-players that should help the Lady ‘Pack in its bid to top last year’s run to the conference semi-finals.
Marley Milton
Marley Milton, criminal justice freshman, joins Loyola as its most decorated recruit for the 2006-07 season. She torched her opponents with a 21-point scoring average her senior season at Albany (La.) High School.
What’s most remarkable about her 2005-06 stat-line is her rebounding average: a Lisa Leslie-like 10.8 rebounds a game, despite being a guard of modest 5-foot-9 height. Milton garnered impressive accolades – she’s a two-time All-State and All-Parish player and won MVP honors in 2005.
“We feel Marley will be a great fit for our program. In watching her play in high school, she makes great reads on offense. She is also a tenacious rebounder and great team leader,” Plaisance said in reaction to signing Milton, an heir-apparent to the Lady ‘Pack’s established stars.
Milton set an Albany school record for points in a game with 55.
Atoyia Scott
Atoyia Scott, music performance freshman, opens her collegiate career hot off a Louisiana Class 5A semi-final run with the Denham Springs Yellow Jackets.
Scott helped orchestrate wins over athletic powerhouse West Monroe and over tournament hosts Hammond High in a triple-overtime thriller before losing to Airline High School in the semis.
“She’s a tremendous defensive player – very quick. We used her against the quickest player on the other team,” said Denham Springs girls basketball coach Shelly LaPrairie. “She was very key with her defensive effort in beating West Monroe and she scored when she had to.”
President of her senior class, Scott enjoyed a tenure highly touted by both the student body and the basketball program.
Adama Mballow
Adama Mballow, general studies sophomore, admits that Loyola wasn’t one of her top choices. Her journey to The Den’s hard court saw her play at both Santa Fe Community College and Georgia Perimeter College beforehand.
“Once I saw the campus, the mixed cultures, and heard that it was a good academic school, I figured that would help me a lot with my life after basketball.”
Mballow feels she brings a domineering front-court presence to the Lady ‘Pack, her strongest assets being her strength and rebounding ability. “I can score, but I like my power plays,” she said.
An aspect of her game she hopes to fortify while at Loyola is her consistency, especially in scoring. “One game I’ll score 30 but come back and score 10 the next game.”
Mballow is a player capable of explosive, starter-quality production: She scored 23 points and hauled down 10 boards in one of her better games at Santa Fe.
Ramon Vargas can be reached at [email protected].
Atoyia Scott
Marley Milton
