Nov. 24, 2008
Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham women's basketball coach Cathy Andruzzi announced the signing of two student-athletes today, as forwards Ranait Griff (Summit, N.J./Rutgers Prep) and Ariel Dale (Los Angeles, Calif./Pacific Hills) have both signed to play for Fordham University, beginning in the 2009-10 season.
"I am very pleased with the signing of Ranait Griff and Ariel Dale," said Andruzzi. "They provide our team with size in length and bulk on the perimeter. They have strong academic backgrounds and have played on competitive high school and AAU programs."
Griff, a 6-0 shooting guard from New Jersey, plays for Rutgers Prep and is a 2009 McDonald's All-American nominee, as well as a Preseason All-American Honorable Mention by The Sporting News. She helped Rutgers Prep to the 2007, 2008 and 2009 State Prep "B" Championships and the 2008 Somerset County Championship. In 2009, she averaged 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals, and set the school's single season assists record (85). She finished her career at Rutgers Prep with 931 career points while she was selected to the All-State Prep team by the Star Ledger for the third time and was also a 2008 Home News All-Area selection as well as a 2008 and 2009 Courier News First-Team selection.
Besides her play at Rutgers Prep, Griff attended the 2008 Nike Grassroots Regional Skills Academy and played AAU basketball for the NJ Panthers. With the Panthers, Griff helped the team finish as the runner-up at the 2007 and 2008 New Jersey State Division I 16U Championships. The team also competed at the 2008 Elite 8 NBE Summer Showcase and the USJN Junior Nationals. An honor roll athlete and a member of the National French Honor Society, Griff was a four-year varsity athlete in not only basketball, but the tri-sport athlete played four years of varsity soccer and lacrosse.
"Ranait is long and athletic. She has three point range, can score in transition and is a good passer. She has a strong basketball background. Her high school team is one of the top private schools in the country. Her high school coach, Mary Klinger, is well respected and was a great player at Rutgers University," said Andruzzi.
Dale, a 5-9 small forward from California, is a two-year captain at Pacific Hills High School, where she has led her team to two Southern Section Championships and runner-up status at the Division V State Championships twice. A two-time All-Olympic League performer, she averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game during the 2008-09 season. Her efforts in the 2008-09 season earned her 2009 First-Team Olympic and Second-Team All CIF status while she was one of 15 girls out of 530 schools to play on the CIF All-Star Team. She was listed among the Top 60 at her position by ESPN, as well as in the Top 10 at her position in California by scout.com.
Away from the court, Dale is a three-year member of the honor roll, the National Honor Society, and has served as Yearbook Editor (2008) and Newspaper Editor (2007) at Pacific Hills. A Youth 2 Leaders Leadership Delegate, she has also served as an inspector for the California Election Polls.
"Ariel is a physical versatile player with three point range. She can create off the dribble and knows how to attack the rim. At 5'9, she can defend bigger players, which is an asset in our league," said Andruzzi.
