May 4, 2011
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Briana Charles and Friederike Moderegger have signed a national letter of intent to play for the UNLV women's basketball team starting in the fall of 2011-12, head coach Kathy Olivier announced Wednesday.
Charles, a 5-6 point guard from Sacramento, Calif., averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game her senior year while leading St. Francis High to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Sectional Championship. She was named the Delta River League Player of the Year after leading her team to the conference championship title, and has also earned four first-team All-Delta River League and All-Metro honors, including a first team All-Metro mention in 2010-11. She was named to the ESPN Rise 2011 Cal-Hi Sports CIF All-State Team, and was runner-up for Sacramento All-Metro Player of the Year. Charles is also a member of the track team at St. Francis, and helped the squad to the sectional championship in 2010 while running on the first place 4x100m relay team at the sectional meet. She also competed on the 4x400m relay and in the high jump as well.
"Briana is an excellent floor leader with quickness as well," said Olivier. "She is a feisty point guard who loves to defend. She does not take breaks during play and has great energy on the court."
Moderegger, a 6-2 center, is the first native of Germany to join the Lady Rebels since Linda Frohlich and Petra Gläser played for the 2001-02 squad. A native of Essen, she played for New Basket Oberhausen, and helped it to three league championships, as well as the U-18 Germany championship title in 2008.
She played one year of American high school basketball, leading Willamette High School in Eugene, Ore., to a Midwestern League championship as well as the 5A state championship title. Moderegger then returned to Germany and played for New Basket Oberhausen women's team, which played in the third-highest league in the country, and helped the team to two runner-up finishes.
This past season she was on the squad at New Mexico JC in Hobbs, N.M., but was limited by injuries for the majority of the season and saw limited time on the court.
"Fredi has good size with a desire to improve," said Olivier. "She has the ability to score anywhere from mid-range to inside the paint. We expect her to help with our depth at the post position."
Charles and Moderegger are the third and fourth members of UNLV's recruiting class this year, joining Alana Cesarz and Danielle Miller who signed with the Lady Rebels in the fall.
"We're thrilled to have both of these players join Alana and Danielle in our 2011 recruiting class. All four players are quality people that we're excited to start coaching."
