Bulls Sign Two For 2010-11 Season

Rachel Bantelman and Kristen Sharkey have each signed National Letters of Intent

Rachel Bantelman

BUFFALO, NY – Fifth-year head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald has announced the signing of two players to National Letters of Intent as the early signing period began today. Rachel Bantelman (Olean, NY/Olean) and Kristen Sharkey (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern) will each join the Bulls for the 2010-11 season.

Bantelman is a 5-11 forward out of Olean High School and will fit in to play either the three or the four for the Bulls. Bantelman has won numerous awards for basketball and swimming in high school. She was named second-team All-State in 2009 as she helped lead her team to the New York State Final Four. She was also a first-team Big 30 All-Star and the CCIAC league MVP after an undefeated conference championship season. During the 2008-09 season, Bantelman led her team in points, rebounds, blocked shots and steals. The Olean, NY native has now led the varsity team in points and rebounds in each of her three seasons with the team. Bantelman has also served as team captain on the Olean High School swimming team where she has competed in the state championships in each of the last two years. Academically, she is in the top 10 percent of her class and has been a NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete for the last five years.

“It is nice to finally have a player on our roster from New York and we are thrilled to have been able to sign someone of Rachel’s caliber in the early signing period,” said Hill-MacDonald. “We look forward to adding her skill set and we are bringing someone in who just has tremendous energy and enthusiasm for the game of basketball. She is a very versatile player with long arms, who can score from the blocks, but also has good range for her size.”

Kristen Sharkey

Sharkey is a 6-1 post player who will give the Bulls a physical presence under the boards. Sharkey is the reigning Ocean County Player of the Year and has been first-team All-Ocean County in each of the last two years. Last season she averaged 19.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game as she was named first-team All-State. She was the leading scorer in the Shore Conference last season and had a career-high 44 points in one game. Sharkey enters her senior season with 1,128 career points and is a three-year scholar athlete.

“Kristen is just a banger that thrives on contact down low,” said Hill-MacDonald. “She has really expanded her game since we started recruiting her and this past summer she showed some great perimeter skills. She can take the ball off the bounce and she can get to the blocks and hold her own against players that are bigger than her. She has a keen ability to always know where the ball is and that makes her a very good offensive rebounder.”

Bantelman and Sharkey will join a UB team that loses just one player to graduation in 2009-10.