June 4, 2004
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech head women’s basketball coach MaChelle Joseph announced Thursday afternoon that a pair of international standouts in Chioma Nnamaka and Giuliett Ancora have signed national letters of intent to play for the Yellow Jackets beginning in the 2004-05 season.
“I’m really excited about both players choosing to come to Georgia Tech,” said Joseph. “Chioma [Nnamaka] is a unique player and her international experience will help her to make the transition to the college game easier, while Giuliett, as a 5-11 point guard, adds another dimension to the point with her height and international experience.”
Nnamaka hails from Uppsala, Sweden, and has helped her teams win the Swedish Championships on three occasions, in 1998 and with two different teams in 2003. She was named the “Scania Queen” in the Nordic Championship in 2003 and the MVP of the Swedish Championship Game in 2003 while being nominated to the all-star team. During the 2004 season, Nnamaka played in a pair of all-star games for the Damligan League (the highest league in Sweden) and won the three-point competition. Sister of former Marquette graduate and current German professional basketball player Oluoma, Nnamaka plans to major in international affairs at Georgia Tech.
“Chioma is an elite player with unique experiences and I’m very excited about her becoming a Yellow Jacket,” said Joseph. “She will add much-needed depth to our backcourt and the fact that she can play three different positions on the court makes her invaluable to us. I think that Chioma will challenge immediately for playing time at either wing position, and also has the ability to step in at the point guard slot. I look for her to be an impact player on the perimeter.”
Ancora, a Victoria, Australia native, joins the Yellow Jackets program after serving as a member of the 2004 Victorian women’s U-20 basketball team for the Australian National Championships. She was also named the 2003 School Sport Australia International Team captain and the Victorian State High School captain at the 2003 National High Schools Championships in Darwin, Northern Territory. An excellent student, Ancora earned the Award for Excellence in the Australian Mathematics competition and the Certificate of LOTE of excellence in the Melbourne Italian Poetry competition during her junior year. She was the school sports captain and participated in the St. Columba’s High School Student Representative Council her senior year. The 2003 high school track champion participated in multiple relays as fundraisers for local charities in Australia and was a member of the volunteer program Prague House while coaching basketball for Junior Domestic Teams within Melbourne.
“Giuliett is a true point guard from Australia that will add some depth at our point position,” Joseph said Thursday. “She is another player with great international experience and we’re looking for great things from her. Giuliett is an outstanding student-athlete and will adjust very well, both academically and athletically, to Georgia Tech because of her experiences. She can play the wing position but is a true point guard and her height [5-11] will be a big plus at that position.”
Nnamaka and Ancora join Jill Ingram, Janie Mitchell, and Daphne Mitchell as members of the 2004-05 women’s basketball freshman class that has already been ranked as high as fifth nationally by at least one publication (All Star Girls Report).
