Trojans Add Inkina to 2017-18 Class

LITTLE ROCK – Trojan women's basketball coach Joe Foley announced the addition of Yanina Inkina to the Trojans' 2017-18 recruiting class on Thursday.

Inkina, a native of Belarus, is currently a sophomore at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, where she scored 7.7 points per game and brought down 4.3 rebounds per game in her freshman year with the Texans.
 
"She's a very versatile, 6-foot-2 player, and she's a very tough matchup for opponents," Foley said. "She's got two years of experience, and we need some of that. She fills a role that will really help us next year and give us an opportunity to move up to the next level."
 
Inkina was on the Belarus Under-20 national team this summer, competing at the FIBA U-20 Women's European Championship. She was Belarus' leading scorer in two games of its six games including a 21-point effort against Bulgaria.
 
In high school in Belarus, Inkina reached the European Youth Basketball League's Under-17 Super Final for three consecutive seasons and had her team win the championship in 2014. She was named her team's Most Outstanding Player in 2013 and 2014 while being placed on multiple all-star teams.
 
"She's got a very unique skill set in that she's a legit 6-foot-2 but she has more perimeter skills," South Plains College coach Cayla Petree said. "She can really, really shoot the 3, she can pass and has great fundamentals. You're going to have to run her out of the gym. I've been a college basketball coach for 11 years and I've never had someone spend so much time on her own as she does. She's a classic overachiever."
 
Inkina becomes the second player in three years to come to Little Rock from South Plains College. Little Rock's 2015-16 senior Alexius Dawn also attended South Plains College for her freshman and sophomore seasons. Inkina will also become the first international player on the roster since Mirena Dimova (Bulgaria) in 2005-06.

Inkina is Little Rock's sixth addition during the early signing period. She joins Oklahoma native Kiki Shields, Kansas native Terrion Moore, Arkansas native Tori Lasker and Mississippi natives Teal Battle and Keyara Jones.