Espinoza-Hunter’s NCAA Waiver Approved
November 07, 2018 | Women's Basketball
By Brock Turnipseed, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – On Wednesday, the NCAA approved the waiver of Mississippi State sophomore guard Andra Espinoza-Hunter, making her immediately eligible to play this season."I am really happy for Andra," Vic Schaefer said. "I think the right decision was made, and we are really appreciative to everyone involved who spent time on this. Andra has worked extremely hard and has been great since the day she stepped foot on campus. She has prepared herself for this moment and will be ready to step in right away."
Espinoza-Hunter, an Ossining, N.Y., native, will see her first action with the Bulldogs on Friday when they travel to Virginia for a 6 p.m. CT tip.
She played in seven games as a freshman at UConn before joining the Bulldog program. Espinoza-Hunter will have three years of eligibility remaining.
The 5-foot-11 Espinoza-Hunter was the No. 16 player in the 2017 class by ESPN and No. 10 according to Blue Star Media.
She was the 2017 New York Gatorade Player of the Year, Co-Miss New York State Basketball and a finalist for Gatorade National Player of the Year after scoring 995 points as a senior to guide Ossining High School to the state Class AA finals.
Espinoza-Hunter, who reached the 2,000-career point mark in her final prep season, averaged 36.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.1 apg and 3.0 spg in her high school career.
She returned to Ossining HS after playing the previous three years at Blair Academy in New Jersey, where she helped the program to league and state prep championships each season. She averaged 25.0 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior, and 19.1 points and 6.5 rebounds her sophomore season.
Before journeying to Blair Academy, she started her career as a seventh grader at Ossining, tallying 478 points and 99 3-pointers in two seasons. She also helped her team to the 2013 state championship.
Espinoza-Hunter also has experience on the international level as well, averaging 10.0 points and 3.8 rebounds for the United States U-16 national team that went 4-1 and won bronze at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.
She was also a candidate for the 2016 United States U-17 squad.
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