Brooklyn, N.Y. – LIU Brooklyn head women's basketball coach Gail Striegler has announced that Fanny Cavallo and Taylor Ignoto have signed National Letters-of-Intent to join the Blackbirds in the fall of 2012. Ignoto, a 5-7 guard, and Cavallo, a 6-0 forward, each enjoyed standout seasons at the junior-college level in 2011-12 and will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Blackbirds.
Cavallo, born in the Republic of Mali in western Africa and raised In Lorgues, France, played last season at Georgia Perimeter College in Alpharetta, Ga. The Jaguars won 23 games in 2011-12 and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight of the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament.
“Fanny has the ability to score from the block, and is also a great defender,” Striegler says. "She runs the floor very well, and will fit right in to our up-tempo style of play."
Cavallo registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the team's final game of the season against Shelton State Community College, and averaged 8.6 points and 9.1 rebounds while turning away 1.4 shots per game over the course of the season. Prior to her year at GPC, the athletic forward played a season at the College of Southern Idaho. She started 16 games, and averaged 8.7 points and 6.9 rebounds while helping the Golden Eagles to a 23-9 record.
Originally from Thousand Oaks, Calif., Ignoto was an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo. A first-team all-region selection, Ignoto averaged 17.2 points and shot 40.7 percent from three-point range in her one year for the Lady Cardinals.
“Taylor can score from anywhere on the floor, and in many different ways,” Striegler says. "She is a proven scorer at the high-school and junior-college levels, and will help open up our inside game with her perimeter play."
Prior to her season at Mineral Area, Ignoto spent her freshman year at Southern Illinois and played in 17 contests while starting one for the Salukis. The all-time leading scorer in Westlake High School history with 1,487 points, the left-hander averaged 19.5 points per game as a senior at Westlake, and was named to the Marmont League and Ventura County first teams as a junior and senior.
Cavallo and Ignoto join Sophie Bhasin (San Bernardino, Calif.) and Jahmia Phillips (Chicago, Ill.) as newcomers for next season. Both Bhasin and Phillips signed NLIs with LIU Brooklyn in November of last year.
The Blackbirds, who return eight letterwinners from last year, won 21 games in 2011-12 and have registered 62 victories over the last three seasons. The win total is the most for an LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team over a three-year span.