LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s women’s basketball team has added another former NCAA Division I guard to its program, Golden Eagle head coach Janell Jones announced on Tuesday.
Erika Ruiz, a guard from Saint Mary’s College, has joined the Cal State L.A. program, Jones said. Ruiz appeared in 54 games over two seasons with the Gaels. She averaged 2.7 points in a little more than 10 minutes per game in the 2008-09 season for Saint Mary’s.
“Erika is a combo guard who is extremely fast and very active on the floor,” Jones said. “She can get to the rim, hit the ‘three’ and get after it on the defensive end. We are excited to have another experienced guard in the program.”
Ruiz had a career-best 13 points in a game at the University of San Francisco on Feb. 5, 2009. She had her career high for rebounds (five) against the University of San Francisco on Jan. 10, 2009 and had a career-best five assists in a contest at Nevada on Nov. 23, 2008.
She appeared in 28 games as a freshman in the 2007-08 season and shot a team-high 50 percent from behind the 3-point arc. She hit all three of her field-goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a game at Portland on Feb. 2, 2008.
Ruiz joined Saint Mary’s from Vallejo, where she earned four varsity letters in basketball at St. Patrick High School. She averaged 12.6 points and 4.1 assists as a senior and scored a season-high 29 points in the BSAL Championship against Piedmont High School. She was named to the West Coast Jamboree and Healdsburg Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2007 and led her team to BSAL, NCS and NorCal championships. She earned first-team All-League honors, Vallejo Times Herald All-City honors and Cal Hi Sports Division IV second-team recognition.