St. Vincent Pallotti Senior Ready for Big East Hoops

Chizzy Ekedigwe, whose parents are from Nigeria, was born in Virginia and began playing basketball when she was in third grade. Ekedigwe attended a Catholic school in Silver Spring through eighth grade, then entered St. Vincent Pallotti High in Laurel when she was a freshman.

At that time it would have hard to predict that Ekedigwe, who is now 6-foot-5, would garner a basketball scholarship to a major Division I program in the Big East Conference. But after two years under head coach Debbie Skelly, and one under Josh Pratt, Ekedigwe signed a letter-of-intent last November to play at Seton Hall in New Jersey.

Now that her senior season is over, the Lanham resident can begin to focus on playing in the fall at Seton Hall. She averaged about 12 points and 10 rebounds per game this season for Pallotti.

"She is good enough to be a good offensive player down the road in college," said  Pratt, the head coach at Pallotti. "Because she is 6-5 people expect more from her.

"The referees tend to favor smaller girls at the high school level. She kept her cool all year. She played really well. She is such an inside presence, running the floor, blocking shots. She really came on in the last two weeks of the season."

Ekedigwe also made visits to St. John's, American University and Virginia Commonwealth before going with Seton Hall. She said she picked Seton Hall because it was a Catholic school that was some distance away from the Maryland home she is used to.

Another benefit is her head coach at Seton Hall will be Anne Donovan, an All-American at Old Dominion University and a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame.

The former center coached the New York Liberty of the WNBA in 2010. Donovan saw Pallotti play in its last regular-season game at St. Frances, and she told Pratt she was excited about the chance to coach Ekedigwe.

"She is real mellow and calm. I am excited to have her as a coach since she was a post player," Ekedigwe said of playing for Donovan.

"Chizzy is a long, lean post player who will add depth to our post game," Donovan said on the Seton Hall athletic website. "Her potential is unlimited and I look forward to her development."

Ekedigwe averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and more than three blocks per game last year as a junior for the Panthers, and led the IAAM conference with 82 blocks.

Hoop notes: The Laurel High boys and girls both played Feb. 25 in the Class 4A South Region basketball tournament. The Laurel boy lost, 70-57, to DuVal while the Laurel girls beat Parkdale, 46-37. The Laurel girls will play Tuesday, March 1 at powerhouse Wise at 6 p.m.

Brittney Jackson, a Laurel High graduate, is slated to take part in her last CIAA hoop tourney this week with Bowie State. The Bulldogs are set to play Tuesday, March 1 in Charlotte. Jackson is averaging 8.7 points per contest.

Jonathan Arledge, a product of the Laurel Boys and Girls Club, and George Mason will be the top seed when the CAA men's hoop tourney begins Friday in Richmond. Mason has a first-round bye and will open play on Saturday. The winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. Arledge is a freshman reserve forward for Mason.