BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard announced the signing of Egyptian national Meral Abdelgawad on Thursday morning, adding a fourth player to WKU's 2017-18 early signing class.
Abdelgawad joins Akira Levy, Elysa Wesolek and Kallie Searcy as players who have committed to the Lady Toppers for the Class of 2022. Like fellow Egyptian and current Lady Topper Raneem Elgedawy, Abdelgawad will bring extensive national team experience when she arrives on The Hill.
"I am extremely excited to announce the signing of Meral to our Lady Topper Basketball program. She is a versatile 5'11" guard that has the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways and is a true winner," Clark-Heard said of the newest signee. "Her play against top-level competition on the international stage will prove invaluable for us as we continue to build on the tradition of winning and excellence that is Lady Topper Basketball. She fits in perfectly with our 2017-18 signing class and I can't wait to get Meral, Kallie, Elysa and Akira on The Hill!"
In her most recent stint with the Egyptian national team, Abdelgawad competed in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, starring for Egypt with 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game across seven contests in July. Abdelgawad scored 20 or more points in three of the games, notching 22 against Puerto Rico, 23 versus Spain and her tournament-high of 24 against Russia. Her 17.4 points ranked second among all players at the event, trailing only Russia's Maria Vadeeva who competes for the senior Russian national team.
Not only a well-balanced offensive threat, Abdelgawad's 2.4 steals per game ranked second among all players behind South Korea's Jihyun Park, and her 5.1 assists per game was sixth at the prestigious event. Among guards, her 4.7 rebounds ranked fifth, and her dangerous ability to drive to the basket forced opponents into fouling her; Abdelgawad's 30 made free throws tied for second at the World Cup.
In addition to her experience at the U19 World Cup, Abdelgawad also competed for Egypt's senior national team in the final round of the 2017 Afrobasket tournament; Abdelgawad was the youngest player competing for any nation in the event and held her own against much older players, averaging 11.1 points, three rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as Egypt claimed a seventh-place finish.
Abdelgawad began to emerge as a star for Egypt at the 2016 U18 Afrobasket Championships, pushing Egypt to a second-place finish while putting up a statline of 14 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. For her stellar efforts in the tournament, Abdelgawad was named Most Valuable Player for the event.
The incoming signee class will face the tough task of replacing two Lady Topper greats in Tashia Brown and Ivy Brown, both of whom will graduate in May. The quartet will be seeking to continue to recent high level of success for Lady Topper Basketball, which has averaged 26 wins per season under Clark-Heard and has claimed three consecutive 27-win seasons.
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