April 20, 2005

DAYTON, OH - Head coach Jim Jabir accepted a national letter of intent from Marie Rosche to play women's basketball at the University of Dayton. Rosche is a 6-2 two-sport athlete from Westtown, PA, outside Philadelphia.

"We're very pleased that Marie is joining the UD family," Jabir said. "She's one of the best athletes we've ever had at UD, and with her work ethic, we believe she can be one of the best players as well."

On the court, Rosche (pronounced Ro-SHAY), who is originally from Tanzania, can play guard or forward, but will most likely be a small forward for the Flyers. Also a track athlete, she has only played basketball since her sophomore season, but her athleticism and quickness drew the attention of the UD coaching staff.

She helped Westtown High School to the Friends League championship game, finishing as the runner up. In a league semifinal, she hit game-winning free throw with seven seconds left to give Westtown a 48-47 semifinal win at Friends' Central. She was named First Team All-FSL.

"Marie's athleticism and versatility gives us another player who enables us to play an aggressive running style," Jabir added. The Flyers return 13 of 14 players from last year's roster. Dayton posted a nine-game turn-around from the previous season, the fourth-best mark in the NCAA.