July 7, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball team announced that Ilze Gotfrida (Dobele, Latvia/Rigas Secondary School No. 49) and Samira Van Grinsven (Helmond, Netherlands/Jan van Brabaut/Casper College) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Saint Joseph's University beginning in 2010-11.

Playing for the club team Riga Technical University - Merks, Gotfrida averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game this past season. Named Playoff MVP, she added 8.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.4 assists per contest while shooting 48 percent from the floor. Currently training with the Latvian Under-20 National Team, Gotfrida previously has played for her country's Under-16 and Under-18 squads. Prior to playing for RTU-Merks, the 6-foot forward averaged 22.2 points per game for Jugla.

Guiding Casper College to a 58-12 mark during her two years, Van Grinsven averaged 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a member of the Thunderbirds. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-2 forward led the team in rebounding (8.6 rpg), finished second in scoring (13.4 ppg) and shot a team-best 51.9 percent from the field en route to earning First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region honors. A stellar defender, Van Grinsven also added 52 blocks and 30 steals and was the lone Thunderbird to start all 38 games. Starting 29 of 32 games as a freshman, she tallied 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor.

Saint Joseph's, which is coming off an appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament this past March, lost seniors Mariame Djouara, Brittany Ford, Amy Gillespie and Ashley Logue to graduation in May.