Danielle Garven, a 6-1 guard who is a member of the under-17 Canadian national team, signed with the Gophers women's basketball team, the school announced Thursday.
Garven plays for Pope John Paul II Catholic in greater Toronto and is ranked No. 13 at her position by espnW's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings.
"She is a scorer who understands what it means to play on a big stage and in big games," Gophers coach Marlene Stollings said.
Garven helped Canada win the silver medal at the 2013 FIBA under-16 World Championships in Mexico.
Honors for four Loons
Four Minnesota United FC players were named to the North America Soccer League's Best XI, the list of the top 11 players as selected by the league's head coaches.
Rookie Christian Ramirez was an obvious pick. He won the Golden Boot award for scoring a league-high 20 goals and was named the Young Player of the Year.
Midfielder Miguel Ibarra, a two-time U.S. national team call-up, had nine goals and five assists.
Defender Justin Davis was a six-time member of the Team of the Week.
And Brazilian Tiago Calvano was one of the main central defenders for the Loons, who were third in the league in goals allowed and had seven shutouts.
Etc.
• The Gophers softball team signed first baseman Maddie Houlihan of Benilde-St. Margaret's, outfielder Taylor Chell of Anoka High School and catcher/outfielder Jessie Isham of Salem, Ore. "This class will bring a good combination of speed and power to the program," Minnesota coach Jessica Allister said.
• St. Paul native Maria Lamb and Steven Hartman of Roseville have been named to the U.S. long-track speedskating team that will compete on the Fall World Cup circuit. The two are among 18 skaters who qualified through a three-day trial in Kearns, Utah, and will race at events in Japan, Korea, Germany and The Netherlands over the next six weeks. Hartman and Kyle Ronchak of Arden Hills also were named to the U.S. long-track national training program.
• Bob O'Connor of Hopkins will receive the USA Hockey Builders Award as part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Dec. 4 in Minneapolis. He is a longtime youth and high school coach who also has been an assistant coach with several U.S. teams, including the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. He spent 26 years as a USA Hockey coach-in-chief and helped develop the organization's coaching education program.
• Bemidji State signed hometown defenseman Dillon Eichstad, and forward T.J. Roo of Champion.
• Minnesota State Mankato signed five men's hockey players, including forward Max Coatta of Minnetonka and defenseman Clint Lewis of Burnsville.
