Drexel University Athletics
Marginean and Stjarnstrom Continue Their Basketball Careers in Europe
8/31/2010 2:38:49 PM | Women's Basketball
Recent Drexel basketball alumns Jennifer Stjarnstrom and Gabriela Marginean will be continuing their playing careers in Europe this fall. Marginean, fresh of her run with the Romanian National Team, has signed a contract to play for Panathinaikos Athens of the Greek A1 League. Stjarnstrom returns to her native Sweden to join her hometown team, Norrkoping Dolphins.
Stjarnstrom, who played club basketball for Norrkoping before coming to Drexel, will join a Dolphins team that finished in the middle of the pack in the Swedish Basketball Federation with an 11-11 record last season. At Drexel, Stjarnstrom was one of the Dragons top post defenders during her four years and a hard working player both in games and in practice. She graduated with a degree in hotel and restaurant managment.
Marginean joins a successful Panathinaikos Athens squad that finished fourth in Greece's premier basketball league. The Romanian native just finished her first stint with her country's senior national team in its quest to qualify for next year's European Championships. While the Romanians fell short of qualifying, Marginean emerged as a star of the future on the team. After coming off the bench in the first two qualifying games, she exploded for 30 points against a tough Israel team in the third contest and earned herself a starting spot. By the end of the tournament, Marginean was the team's leading scorer and three-point shooter and ranked second in rebounding.
At Panathinaikos, Marginean will join a strong team that finished 15-9 last year in the A1 League and features Americans Guiliana Mendiola, a stand-out from the University of Washington, and Athena Christoforakis, who was an All-Conference player at Temple.
Marginean and Stjarnstrom join a host of recent Drexel women's basketball players who have played professionally in Europe following their time in University City, including Michelle Maslowski, Kira Karlstrom and Catherine Scanlon. Both Dragons begin play for their new teams this fall.
