HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team signed guard Makolla Bagayegou from Gothenburg, Sweden, head coach
Donna Finnie announced Wednesday morning.
The Swedish native plays club basketball for Högsbo Basket and head coach Jonas Fredriksson. On her u19 team she averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 27 minutes of work. In 2018, her team finished in fourth place in the Nordic Championships. The same year, they finished third in the Swedish Championships and advanced to the Final Four.
She was voted the Youth Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019, won The Most Outstanding Youth Player Diploma in 2019, and was voted Best Playmaker in 2021 and 2023.
Coach Finnie is very excited about the signing and thinks her style of play will transition smoothly into the Huskies current system.
"We had been looking for someone for some time who could attack the rim and give us more of a perimeter threat in transition and Makolla immediately caught our attention," Finnie said. "I think what Coach Taylor and I both liked was her ability to pressure the ball defensively too but we also saw where she could help us on the offensive end. Makolla is a big personality is very mature. She's played on a women's team and really understands the game so we expect her to transition smoothly to the collegiate game. We are so happy to add Makolla, our second Swedish player, to our incoming freshman class."
Bagayegou was born to parents Mabana Toure and Sekou Bagayegou and has three brothers: Inza (27), Amadou (24), and David (16).
Committing to HCU was easy for Makolla after meeting the coaching staff and building many strong relationships within the program.
"From the very start I had a strong feeling about the team but also the school and the community as a whole", she said. "Each encounter with HCU grew me more certain about my decision. HCU made sense to me, my gut feeling was telling me this is it, here will be home for the next 4 years. I truly believe that HCU will be the place where I can grow both on and off court and become the best version of myself. "
Bagayegou joins Riley Wells, Tove Caesar, and Hannah Fields as a part of the 2023-24 signing class.
