HOUSTON – HBU women's basketball has signed Annabel Deerbon to a National Letter of Intent, head coach
Donna Finnie announced, along with two other signings, Friday.
"Annabel is a huge get for us," Finnie said. "Not only was I immediately impressed with Annabel's basketball IQ and ability to score all three ways, but her passing ability in transition, poise on the ball and overall court vision is so mature. Her personality is super positive and I was struck by how appreciative she was during the whole recruiting process and on her official visit. Annabel loves the game and it shows in her play. I am expecting big things from her as a freshman!"
Deerbon is a 5-11 guard from Melbourne, Australia. She played six seasons at Vermont Secondary College for coach Mike Stevens. Deerbon was the state schools Victoria representative and was named to the Australia State Schools Team. She averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the Australian State Schools Tournament in 2019. She was the Victorian regional cross country school representative, was sports captain year 12 and Global Leadership Form Captain.
"I can't wait for the new basketball season to start, as I am looking forward to playing with my new team," Deerbon said. "I loved my visit to Houston, and I am so excited to get over there and be a Husky!"
In addition to her prep career, Deerbon played club basketball for the Ringwood Hawks and coach Tim Mottin. She averaged 17.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in 2019. She was the Club MVP every year from U14 to U21, was the Female Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and League MVP in 2019. Deerbon led her team to the U16 Victorian Junior Championship regional gold medal, the U18 Classic National Tournament bronze medal and the U21 Victorian Junior Championship gold medal.
"It is extremely pleasing to see one of our Ringwood Hawk players, who has come through the junior program, be provided with the opportunity to attend such a prestigious program like HBU," Mottin said. "Annabel was always destined to achieve as a junior, with her aggressive and intelligent style of play, I couldn't be happier for her to now be under the guidance of such a wonderful person and coach in
Donna Finnie.
"Since meeting Coach Donna a number of years back when the Huskies visited the Ringwood Hawks program, she impressed me with her devoted and caring attitude towards her players and I had no hesitation in recommending her and the Huskies program as the place to be for Annabel's next four years in college."
Along with Naomi Pierce and Armani Reed, who signed during the early period in November, and the signings of Linda Brückner and Enya Maguire, who were also announced today, the Huskies will have five freshmen joining the team for the 2020-21 season.
HBU Women's Basketball 2020-21 Signees
Linda Brückner F 6-0 Meerbusch, Germany/Schloss Hagerhof
Annabel Deerbon G 5-11 Melbourne, Australia/Vermont Secondary College
Enya Maguire G 5-4 Belfast, Northern Ireland/The Hun School (N.J.)
Naomi Pierce F 6-2 Pflugerville, Texas/Hendrickson
Armani Reed G 5-9 Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington
