Duquesne Dukes Women’s Basketball Reveals 2015-16 Recruiting Class

The Duquesne Dukes coaching staff revealed its 2015-16 recruiting class. Photo courtesy: Jason Cohn

Duquesne head women’s basketball coach Dan Burt announced that Paige Cannon, Eniko Kuttor, Kadri-Ann Lass, Chassidy Omogrosso, Conor Richardson and Angela Staffileno will comprise the incoming 2015-16 freshman class.

Cannon, a 6-1 forward from Johnstown, Ohio, led Johnstown-Monroe to a 26-3 record, a berth in the Division II title game and a #1 ranking in the Columbus Dispatch Coaches Poll. The 2013 and 2014 team MVP finished her junior year averaging 15.7 points per game. A 1,100 point scorer, Cannon has been named to several teams including the Ohio All-State Division II Third-Team, Associated Press All-Central District Division II First- Team, All Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association District 11 Division I First-Team and Columbus Dispatch All-Metro, Division III Third-Team and Special Mention.

In her three years at Johnstown, Cannon has led the Johnnies to a 65-13 record, including a school record 23 wins as a sophomore. During the 2012-13 season, Johnstown upset previously undefeated Fairland, who was ranked 2nd in the state of Ohio, en route to its first-ever league championship. She hold school records with 12 assists in a game and 164 assists for a season.

A member of the 2014 Ohio High School Coaches Association Scholarship Society, Cannon plans on majoring in sports marketing.

Burt on Cannon: “Paige is a winner. Whether it’s high school or AAU, her teams win and most times, she is the catalyst for those wins. Paige has a complete game on the offensive end and her future teammates at Duquesne will be very happy with her passing skills. What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, is how tough Paige is. She is a blue collar, bring your lunch pail to work kind of kid. We are very happy to have Paige join the Duquesne Basketball Family.”

Kuttor, a 6-1 forward from Budapest, Hungary, led her team to a perfect 7-0 record and a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA U18 Division B European Women’s Championship. She averaged 12.3 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game. She recorded four double-doubles and finished the event 2nd in free throw percentage (84.6) and 4th in field goal percentage (52.5). Lass and Kuttor met head-to-head in the final game of the tournament – a 58-52 win for Hungary.

In the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship Women, Kuttor led Hungary to a 6-1 record and a third place finish in the 16-team field. She recorded a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds in Hungary’s 61-51 win over Japan and a tournament-best 17 points in Hungary’s 100-47 win over Egypt.

Kuttor recorded a double-double of career-high of 23 points and 16 rebounds in Hungary’s 75-50 victory over Croatia in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 FIBA U16 Division A European Women’s Championship. Kuttor led Hungary to a third place finish in the 16-team field.

Kuttor plans on majoring in international business.

Lass is a 6-3 guard from Tallinn, Estonia. She played in the 2014 FIBA U18 European Women’s Championship this past summer where she averaged a double-double of 12.0 points per game and 12.9 rebounds per game. She finished the 7-game event ranked 1st in blocked shots (3.0), 2nd in rebounds (12.9), 3rd in field goal percentage (50.0) and 4th in double-doubles (5). She also hit half of her 30point attempts. She had a career-high 21 rebounds in Estonia’s 63-58 win over Israel. She was named Best Forward by Eurobasket.com and to the 2014 FIBA U18 European Women’s Championship First-Team.

Burt on Kuttor: “Eniko is a technically skilled European whose best attributes and skills don’t always show up in a game box score. She is an outstanding defender, both on the ball and as a help defender. She plays exceptionally hard and rebounds outside her area well. Also, Eniko has the ability to connect consistently from beyond the arc while also employing a strong back to the basket game. We are very happy to add Eniko to our legacy of having high level Hungarian players at Duquesne.

Lass has also participated in the 2013 FIBA U18 Division A European Women’s Championship as well as the 2011 and 2012 FIBA U16 European Women’s Championships. Her career-high of 28 points came against Norway in 2012.

In 2012, Lass was named MVP of SuperFinals of the U17 Eastern Europe Girls Basketball League while playing for Estonia SC Audentes Tallinn. Lass scored 24 points, leading her team over Latvia Kolibri Riga 67-62. She also led the Estonians to the finals of the 2013 FIBA 3X3 U18 World Championship in Indonesia before falling to the United States.

Lass plans on majoring in international business.

Burt on Lass: “Kadri is a guard-forward who will play inside and out for us. We expect Kadri to make immediate contributions to our program, as she is skilled on both ends of the floor. This past summer, Kadri matched up against some of the best young players in the world at the 3×3 World Championships in Indonesia and more than held her own. We are very excited to have Kadri join our Duquesne family.”

Omogrosso, a 5-6 guard from Beaver Falls, Pa. who was the 2014 AP Pennsylvania AAA Player of the Year, led Blackhawk to a 28-2 record and WPIAL and PIAA championships as a junior. In the state championship game against Archbishop Wood, she scored a game-high 26 points. She finished her junior season averaging 21.6 points per game. Already Blackhawk’s all-time leading scorer with 1,848 points, Omogrosso has been named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Fabulous Five and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Terrific Ten her sophomore and junior seasons. Additionally, she has been the Beaver County Times Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year as well as a finalist for the 2014 Miss PA Basketball Award.

A teammate of Richardson’s with the Western PA Bruins, Omogrosso was also an USJN/Nike U17 National Championship All-Star. Omogrosso is ranked the 31st best point guard in the high school class of 2015 by Olson of ESPN HoopGurlz. The Carolina Scouting Report Top 100 has Omogrosso ranked as the 31st best overall player. Playing with her high school team at the prestigious Best of Maryland Invite Tournament, Omogrosso scored an event record 43 points.

In addition to holding Blackhawk’s all-time scoring mark, she set single-season school records with 650 points, 73 3-pointers and an 86 free throw shooting percentage. Omogrosso also holds single-game records with 39 points and eight 3-pointers.

A scholar athlete who is a member of National Honor Society Omogrosso is undecided on a major.

Burt on Omogrosso: “Chassidy is clearly the best high school point guard in Pennsylvania. We are very excited about Chassidy continuing her outstanding success here at Duquesne. We expect Chassidy to be a factor in our offense the moment she steps on campus. Her ability to shoot the three with range, attack the basket and run the offense as a primary point guard is high level. Chassidy continues our commitment to signing the very best players from the WPIAL.”

Richardson, a 5-9 guard from Pittsburgh, led Carlynton to the Section 6 AA championship and a berth in the WPIAL quarterfinals. This was the Cougars’ first playoff appearance since 2005. The 2014 team MVP finished the season averaging 20.9 points, 4.4 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.2 blocks per game. For her efforts, she was named the Section 6 AA MVP and to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s West Fabulous Five. Additionally, she was a KDKA-TV Extra Effort Award winner, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s West Featured Athlete and Girls Basketball Player of the Week and a TribLive Sports West XTRA Featured Athlete.

Richardson played club ball for the nationally-ranked Western PA Bruins, where she was named a USJN/Nike U17 National Championship All-Star. She was rated a three star prospect by Dan Olson from ESPNU, Bret McCormick from All-Star Girls Report and Brandon Clay from Prospect Nation. Olson’s evaluation report had her ranked at the 36th best shooting guard and the 176th best player in his system. She was just one of nine freshman to be invited to the 2012 Nike Skills Academy-Northeast region. Richardson was also invited to the Michael T. White Top Ten All-American Camp in Atlanta. A high and distinguished honor student who is a member of National Honor Society with a class rank of 9, Richardson plans on majoring in business.

Burt on Richardson: “Conor is a player who has been through a lot with various injuries in her high school career and we believe that her future has a high ceiling. Conor had a very good summer this past year and we were attracted to her ability to score the ball in a multitude of ways. Conor is also a great student in the classroom and represents herself, family and school well off the court.”

Staffileno, a 6-2 forward from Wellsburg, W.Va., is coming off a junior season where she averaged a double-double of 24 points per game 12 rebounds per game while serving as team captain. She also averaged five blocks per game. She has led the Bruins in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots all three years.

Brooke High School’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,300 points Staffileno has been named to the West Virginia Secondary School Athletics All-State team all three years. In 2013 and 2014, she was named captain of the AAA All-State Second-T¬eam. She is a three-time Ohio Valley Athletic Conference First-Team and All-Valley Big School First-Team selections. Staffileno was also a two-time News9 Top 9 Winter Athlete and Second-Team TRAC.

The third member of the Western Pa. Bruins to join the Dukes, Staffileno is undecided on a major.

Burt on Staffileno: “Angela has been a stat sheet stuffer her entire career at Brooke High School. Angela has college-level strength already and shoots the three well off the pick and roll. Angela will be bringing her game to a much higher level, and there could be a small period of adjustment, but we believe she has the drive and athleticism to be a very good player at Duquesne.”