Hartsville, SC- Coker College Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Carol Meegan, announced the signing of six new faces to National Letters of Intent to play basketball for the Lady Cobras in the 2007-2008 season. Coach Meegan’s new crop of players are from all over the United States and the world, as she has added her third player from Finland, along with two from South Carolina, one from North Carolina, one from Maine and one from New Jersey.

Maija Castren is a 6-3 forward from Vantaa, Finland. She joins fellow Finland natives Henna Koponen and Lotta Aaltonen who are raising sophomores for the Lady Cobras. According to Coach Meegan, “Castren is an athletic young lady, a good rebounder and can block underneath.”

Kenya McCarthan is a 5-9 guard from Bluffton, SC, where she was an All-State, All-Conference and All-Area player for Bluffton High School. McCarthan averaged 15.7 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game and 2.4 steals per game as a senior. She was named Beaufort and Jasper County’s Player of the Year in 2007 and during her junior year scored a quadruple double.  Coach Meegan has had her eye on Kenya for sometime, having coached her in a high school All-Star game when she was just a freshman.

Carletta Taylor is a native of Georgetown, SC, where she attended Georgetown High School. She is a 5-11 forward and was named Second Team All-Conference as a senior. Coach Meegan says she is “very athletic, with good leaping ability.”

Joanna Tyndall joins the Lady Cobras from Midway High School in Dunn, NC. She is a 5-1 guard and she is a two-time All-County and All-Conference selection. She is another player that Coach Meegan has been watching for sometime, having seen her play at UNC-Chapel Hill’s basketball camps since she was in the ninth grade. “She is a quick, pesky, play maker,” said Meegan.

Beth Fredette is a 5-10 forward from Sanford High School in Sanford, Maine. Fredette was one of 10 finalists for the Miss Maine Basketball Award and was named Second Team All-State as a senior. She averaged 15.5 points per game, 11.2 rebounds and shot 76 percent from the free-throw line during her senior season. Beth had the pleasure of winning a state title in 2006 and being a runner-up in the state in 2007.

Megan Thomas will come to Coker from Cresskill, New Jersey, where she attended Cresskill High School. Thomas is a 5-5 guard that led her team to the state finals for the past two seasons. She was an All-Conference selection, plays solid defense and has a good knowledge of the game. Coincidentally, Thomas played high school basketball at the school where Coach Meegan started her coaching career.

Coach Meegan is looking for another solid year of improvement, as she takes the helm for her third year at Coker. Last season the Lady Cobras finished the season in ninth place in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, with a record of 8-21 overall, improving from a record of 5-22 during Coach Meegan’s first year. Last season’s Lady Cobras, only lost two seniors, so with a good core returning hopes are high for Coker Women’s Basketball.