Women’s Basketball adds five new recruits

June 11, 2008
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7260

Head women’s basketball coach Leon Neal has completed the recruiting process for the upcoming 2008-09 Evangel basketball team. Neal has signed five new recruits to the Lady Crusaders’ roster.

One local player is on the list of new recruits. Republic (Mo.) High School’s Kara Blankenship is one of Neal’s signees. Blankenship (5-10, Fr., G/F) earned first team status on the All-Central Ozarks Conference and All-District 11, Class 4 teams. She was also an All-Ozarks second team pick and was a member of the KTXR Lady Classic All-Tournament team. Blankenship led the Republic Tigers with her averages of 14.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.5 assists per game. She also had the best field goal percentage, making 59.0 percent of her efforts. Blankenship has been selected to play in the Class 4-5 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame game on Friday, May 30, at Baptist Bible College in Springfield. Tipoff is expected around 7 p.m.  

The other four non-Missouri recruits are Sarah Perez (6-0, Fr., C, Newark, Calif.), Megan Smith (5-11, Fr., F, Las Vegas, Nev.), Randall Van Kempen (5-11, Fr., G, Las Vegas, Nev.), Stephanie Hutchison (6-2, Fr., C, Beaverton, Ore.).

Perez averaged 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds during her 2006-07 senior year at Newark Memorial High School. She earned all-state, all-district and all-conference honors during her final season at Newark Memorial.

Smith and Van Kempen come to Evangel from Mountain View Christian School in Las Vegas. Smith averaged 4.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals as a senior. Van Kempen earned her third consecutive first team all-conference honor this past season. She was also selected as the conference’s most valuable player and was also the Saints’ MVP in 2007-08. As a junior, she notched her name in the Nevada high school record book by making 89 3-pointers that season. In addition, Van Kempen was a candidate for the 2007-08 Nevada State Wendy’s Heisman Award and was the recipient of a Top Ten Student-Athlete Award, which is presented by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. The ten students winning the award not only must be members of several athletic teams, but also must be outstanding achievers in the classroom and community. Van Kempen has also earned first team all-conference status as a volleyball and softball player.

The Mountain View Saints finished 2007-08 with a 27-7 record and were runners-up at the state championships. Evangel star tailback (2004-07), Shedrick McClenton II, is also a graduate of Mountain View Christian High School.

During the 2007-08 season, Hutchison averaged 11.0 points and 9.0 rebounds for Life Christian Academy in Tacoma, Ore. Hutchison made 58.0 percent of her field goals and 85.0 percent of her free throws. She has won second team all-league honors all four years of her high school career.