TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler women's basketball program is pleased to announce the addition of three transfers to the 2021-22 roster.
 
Head coach Rebecca Alvidrez and company have been hard at work revitalizing the current women's basketball roster, and have recently signed a trio of talented transfers in Martina Machalova from Boise State University, Montse Gutierrez Ibanez from Eastern Wyoming College and Keaundra Eddings from Blinn Community College. The three new Patriots will join Liah Davis, Elli Emrich, Lovisa Hevinder and Claudia Garrido as newcomers to the 2021-22 squad for UT Tyler.
 
"We are extremely excited about this year's signing class and Martina, Montse and Keaundra will all bring successful collegiate experience with them to our program," Coach Alvidrez said. "We have really looked at adding individuals who can immediately help us in a variety of ways, and we believe that each of these young ladies can make an impact on the floor in multiple phases of the game."
 
Martina Machalova appeared in 19 games during her true freshman season at Boise State last year, shooting 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the floor for a Broncos squad that finished the year 14-9 on the season. Machalova signed with Boise State after an extremely successful prep career in her homeland of Slovakia, averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for Slovakia's U18 National Team.
 
That team finished 12^th at the 2017 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B, during which time Machalova posted multiple 15-point games against Moldova and Ukraine. She played for the Young Angels Kosice club in addition to her international experience, a club which competed in the top-flight of the European Women's Basketball League (EWBL). Machalova averaged 13.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in the EWBL contests that she appeared in and recorded multiple 30-plus point efforts in her club's league games.

"Martina's height allows her to play inside and out and score at all three levels of the game," Coach Alvidrez said. "She has really good basketball IQ and has played against top competition throughout Europe. She has proven to put up big numbers at times and has the ability to drive the ball, shoot the three and handle contact well on the offensive side of the ball. She simply just makes things happen and is a great complimentary player to many."


  
Monste Gutierrez Ibanez will make her way to Tyler after a two-year career at Eastern Wyoming College. The Vitorua-Gasteiz, Spain native received postseason accolades after both her freshman and sophomore campaigns for the Lancers, earning a spot on the NJCAA Region IX All-Tournament Team her freshman season in 2020-21 and a NJCAA All-Region IX North selection as a sophomore last winter.
 
Gutierrez averaged double-digit scoring figures in both seasons during her time at Eastern Wyoming, and was also named as an Academic All-Region selection as a freshman and as a sophomore. She shot 35.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc last season, including three games in which she connected on five or more three-point makes.
 
She produced a quality prep career back in Spain, averaging 13 points per game and six rebounds per contest her senior season.
 
"Montse is a student-athlete that we are really excited about on and off the court," Coach Alvidrez said. "On the court Montse has shown a very dynamic offensive game, and has the ability to shoot the three and play underneath the basket, a combination that will make her extremely difficult to guard. Having that ability to shoot the three-point shot as a forward will add a new dimension to our offense. She played a lot of minutes at Eastern Wyoming College, and was one of the better overall players in that junior college region last year. She is also extremely good in the classroom and will be a great presence for us in the locker room."


 
Keaundra Eddings also excelled within her region during the 2020-21 season, and will stay in the Lone Star State to continue her collegiate career after two seasons at Blinn Community College. The Navasota, Texas native averaged 12.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last year for the Buccaneers, and was named an All-Region XIV selection at season's end.
 
Eddings was the second leading scorer for a Blinn Community College squad that finished the year ranked no. 23 in the NJCAA National Polls with a record of 18-6, and went 43-13 in Eddings' two seasons with the program. Much of her sophomore season success can be attributed to a marked improvement in her shooting ability, connecting on 38-of-107 attempts (35.5 percent) from three-point range.
 
Eddings was a three-sport standout at Navasota High School, leading her basketball teams to a combined 144-13 record and four district championships while scoring over 2,000 career points during her high school career.
 
She was named the District Offensive Player of the Year in 2017-18 as well as an All-Region and All-State selection by both the TABC and TGCA.
 
"Keaundra will immediately be one of the best pure athletes on our roster and really improved over her time at Blinn from her freshman to sophomore season," Coach Alvidrez said. "Focusing on just one sport really helped her the last two seasons, and we think she is just scratching the surface on what she can do on the court. Both of her previous two coaches mentioned that she was one of the fastest and most athletic players they have ever coached. She went from averaging around four points a game to over 12 points a game between her freshman and sophomore seasons, and has been apart of two programs at Navasota and Blinn that just know how to win. Keaundra has been a leader and a winner for both of those programs and we are excited that she is a Patriot!"


 
Stay tuned to uttylerpatriots.com as coach Alvidrez and the UT Tyler women's basketball program continues to welcome new members to the 2021-22 roster.