CHICAGO – Chicago State women's basketball head coach
Tiffany Sardin announced the
Ifunanya Okoye has signed a grant-in-aid agreement to join the women's basketball team for the 2020-21 season.
Okoye, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, spent her first two seasons playing at Virginia Union. During the 2019-20 season, the 5-10 forward averaged 10.2 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game as the fourth leading scorer on the team and second-leading rebounder.
During her time at Virginia Union Okoye helped the Panthers to a 51-7 record over her two years in Richmond, Virginia. The Panthers posted an impressive 22-1 record at home, including a perfect 12-0 home record this year. She also helped the Panthers to the CIAA title in 2019.
Okoye drilled a season-best 31 points and 13 rebounds in a 66-49 win over Virginia State to earn the Panthers the CIAA's North Division crown this year – their fifth consecutive North Division title. During that game she tied the school record for free throws made, drilling 19 free throws in the victory.
Okoye went to Banner Christian School in Chesterfield, Virginia. As a senior she led the varsity team – just the second in school history - to a record of 23-4. She averaged a double-double with 20.7 ppg and 13.1 rpg and was a first-team all-conference selection, conference tournament MVP and a first-team all-state selection.
Okoye is interested in the nursing program at Chicago State.
Coach Sardin on Okoye
"I am excited to welcome Iffy to the Cougar family. She is coming to us from a winning culture, and has experienced great success. I am expecting Iffy's winning mindset to resonate immediately in our program. She's an intelligent young woman who plays with a lot of toughness and purpose. Iffy will give us versatility in the forward position with the ability to stretch the defense and have a physical presence on the block. I'm looking forward to coaching her and growing in this journey with her."
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