ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon women's basketball team has signed a pair of prep players to join the team for the 2012-13 season, head coach Lynn Kennedy announced. High school seniors Carly Meister and Ashley Claussen have agreed to join the Raiders beginning next season.

“We are very excited about our 2012 recruiting class,” Kennedy said. “Carly and Ashley are two of the best players on the West Coast, and they are also exceptional students.”

Meister, a 6-2 forward from Elma, Wash., is beginning her senior season at Elma H.S. after earning first-team 1A all-state recognition as a junior. She led the Eagles to a 16-8 finish and a berth in the state playoffs, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds per game and setting the school single-game scoring record with 39 points against Hoquiam.

Meister also earned first-team all-Evergreen Conference recognition for the second straight season in 2011. A 4.0 student, she plans to major in mathematics at Southern Oregon.

“Carly is a true power post player,” Kennedy said. “She has the ability to score on the inside and has a great shot on the outside.  Carly is a tenacious rebounder and defender, and her desire to play hard every possession really stood out to me the past few years as I have watched her play. It didn't matter if it was a state playoff game or a summer game, she always worked hard.”

Claussen, a 5-6 point guard from Santa Cruz, Calif., filled up the stat sheet during her junior season with averages of 13 points, six assists, six rebounds and seven steals per game. She led Santa Cruz H.S. to a 17-10 record and earned first-team all-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League recognition.

On Jan. 25, 2011, Claussen accomplished one of the rarest feats in basketball by recording a quadruple-double. Against rival Harbor, she totaled 18 points, 11 steals, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. After compiling a 3.5 grade point average in high school, Claussen plans on majoring in early childhood education at SOU.

“Ashley is a very talented and competitive point guard,” Kennedy said. “She sees the floor extremely well and can anticipate where her teammates are going to be. And even with all of her outstanding offensive skills, she might be even better as a defender. Ashley works hard on every possession and is a perfect fit for our full-court pressure mentality.”

With the Raiders off to a 10-2 start this season and set to lose only one player in senior Josi McDermott (Ashland, Ore./Ashland), Kennedy believes this signing class will be a part of a strong future for women's basketball at SOU.

“Carly and Ashley both bring experience and leadership and come from winning programs,” Kennedy said. “With only one senior and the addition of this recruiting class, I'm extremely excited about the future of Raider basketball.”