SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco women's basketball team welcomes Michaela Raková to the Dons family, after the Slovakian forward declared her intent to play basketball on the Hilltop. The 6-2 Raková, a native of Bratislava, Slovakia, has been playing high-level international basketball for the past five years, both with the national team as well as with SBK Samorin.
"We are very excited about Michaela joining our team at USF," head coach
Jennifer Azzi said. "She had her choice of colleges, and she chose USF for a world-class education, our program and a love for the city of San Francisco. Michaela has solid experience in Europe and she gives us good size and versatility in the post. She runs the floor well, and she's great around the basket. I also appreciate her humility and dedication to work in the classroom as well as on the court, and she is a great addition to the program."
In international competition with Slovakia, Raková competed in the U-16 European Championships in 2010, highlighted by a 17-point, 21-rebound outing against Israel. Her team finished second in the Division B Championships, due in no small part to Raková's performance on the court. In Slovakia's seven games, she averaged 10.9 points and 10.6 rebounds a contest to help the team.
In 2011, she moved up a division to play on the U-18 team, where she played in eight games at the European U-18 Championships. Her 3.1 offensive rebounds per game was good for sixth overall in the standings as she found her name in the top-20 in four categories. After earning the Slovakian National Championship, the team went on to compete in the European Championships yet again in 2012. Raková picked up two double-digit scoring efforts and one double-digit rebounding game through eight contests with Slovakia.
Raková, who plans to pursue a degree in psychology while at USF, is the second international to sign with the Dons in the 2014-15 incoming class. She joins Danish player Anna Seilund in the class of four. Also set to arrive on the Hilltop for the upcoming campaign are junior college All-American Chelsey Jacox and Tiara Tucker, a Northern California standout.
