MCC sending six to NCAA Division I hoops teams

McCOOK, Neb. — McCook Community College Women’s Basketball Coach Brandon Pritchett has announced that his 2022 group of sophomores have completed their summer signing period with six players continuing their basketball careers at four-year programs and four at Division 1 and Division 2 schools this fall.

Over the summer Sonia Sato, Shelby Clark, and Yzabelle Tevao signed on with Division 1 programs and three-year starter Carla Torrubia Cano signed on to Division 2, Wheeling University in West Va.

Sato, was a 6-0 guard who signed on with Division 1 Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. In her only year at MCC she played in 31 games with 29 starts. She averaged 9.7 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per contest. The El Paso, Texas native had 17 double-figure scoring performances last season led by 23 against North Platte Community College. Following the season, Sato was named to the All-Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference Team.

Shelby Clark will next play at Division I Chicago State in Illinois. In her only year at MCC, the 5-7 guard from Las Vegas played in 25 games and averaged 4.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She scored a season-best 15 points in a win over Trinidad State Jan. 22. Yzabelle Tevao, a 6-0 sophomore transfer from Lake region State College, will join Clark at Chicago State. Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, she was at Lake Region State College before appearing in 26 games for MCC this past season. She averaged 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds and posted a season-best nine points in a late-season home game against Otero Junior College.

Carla Torrubia Cano, a 5-11 guard from Melilla Spain, was a three-year starter at MCC. She signed on to play at Division 2 Wheeling University in West Virginia. Cano appeared in 30 games this past season averaging 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In April, Maite Lara Garcia, a sophomore from Sant Joan Despt, Spain became the first women’s basketball player in more than 12 years to sign a letter of intent to play at a NCAA Division I program.

Garcia signed on Wednesday to play at Detroit Mercy in Michigan.

Also in April, Alyssa Van Vleet, Oberlin signed a letter of intent at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich.

However, because of coaching changes she ended up signing on with Division II Drury University in Springfield, Mo.