Oxy Alumna Roshon Records Another First for Women’s Basketball

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Sept. 2, 2009) - Two years after becoming the all time leading scorer in Occidental College women's basketball history, Stacie Roshon recently signed a professional contract with the Velbert Baskets located in Velbert, Germany. The move makes her the first women's basketball player from Occidental to ever play professional basketball.

Roshon left her mark on Oxy basketball by more than just being a prolific scorer, as her work ethic was second to none. Unfortunately, that perseverance was never more important than during her sophomore campaign. The young guard suffered a season ending knee injury early in the season, tearing her ACL, which left her a spectator for the first time in her career. Instead of focusing on the negative, Roshon worked hard to rehab, and came back with a vengeance a year later, leading the team by averaging a personal best 16.8 point per game.

"That's what really caught my attention," stated current Women's Basketball Head Coach Heidi VanDerveer. "She came in to workout at our gym during the summer and really put in some focused and demanding workouts.  I'm so happy that all the hard work has paid off for her." 

VanDerveer became the Tigers' head coach the year after Roshon led Oxy to their first conference title in twenty years, which the 2009 squad defended with many of Roshon's former teammates. 

"I had an opportunity to coach Stacie during my first three years at Oxy, which was a privilege," current Director of Athletics Jaime Hoffman said. "Stacie not only left her mark in the record books at Occidental as a phenomenal athlete, but she was instrumental in the recruitment of the student-athletes who have come here to play and carry on the winning traditions of Tigers women's basketball."

Her experience at Oxy will serve her well, as the Velbert Baskets are a promising squad that is looking to make a name for themselves during the upcoming season.  Head coach Chris Kyriasoglu has been in close contact with his newest guard, hoping to make her an integral part of the rotation as soon as possible.

As if the chance to play professional basketball wasn't enough of a lure, she will also get the first hand experience of living in Germany, with a host family, while traveling Europe playing the sport she loves.

Hoffman has complete faith that her former captain will be ready for the challenge on and off the court.

"Stacie will surely be an excellent representative of the college overseas."

In what is obviously a huge move for the 2007 graduate of Occidental College, who received her degree in Economics, Roshon is ecstatic about the opportunity to play abroad.

"Being able to continue my basketball career is a dream come true, but would not have been possible without the skills and knowledge I acquired at Occidental."   

Roshon leaves in September and will return to the states in late May, but you can follow her on the Velbert Baskets website (http://www.velbert-baskets.de/) as the Oxy alumna becomes the first of hopefully many professional athletes produced by the women's basketball program.