May 19, 2010

Columbus, Ga. -- Columbus State head women's basketball coach Jonathan Norton has announced the addition of eight players during the spring signing period for the Lady Cougar program. The eight players join one early signee to bring the recruiting class total to nine players.

Of the nine signees, seven are from the state of Georgia and the class is comprised of five freshmen and four transfers. By position the group contains four guards, three post players and two forwards.

Norton and his staff signed Northwest Whitfield High School guard Baleigh Coley in the NCAA Early Signing Period in November. Coley had a solid senior season in which she averaged 7.0 points, 4.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. She led her team to a the Region 7-AAAA championship and a runners-up finish in the state championship. She was a 2nd Team All-Area selection.

Joining Coley at the guard spot will be freshmen Marina DeFoor (Tiger, Ga.) and Asha Alexander (Cuthbert, Ga.) and Division I transfer Tandria Milton (Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., Junior) who comes in from Alabama State.  Forwards Chatil Bradford (Freshman, Morrow, Ga.) and Marah Wright (Donalsonville, Ga., Darton College) also join the fold. Post players Carrie Washington (Donalsonville, Ga., Freshman), Lauren Matheney (Menifee, Calif., Palomar College, Junior), and Dominique Gilbert (Albany, Ga., Darton College, Junior) round out the class.

"We feel like we have really addressed our needs with this class," said Norton. "We are proud of the fact that so many of these players are from the state of Georgia and we also feel like we have a great balance of freshmen and transfers. We feel like most of these players will step in right away and contribute."

DeFoor, 5'9, played at Rabun County High School and averaged 14.9 points, just under five rebounds, just over four assists, and 2.9 steals per game as a senior. She helped her squad to back-to-back Georgia Elite Eight appearances and a sparkling 27-2 record this season. Marina was Region 8-AA Player of the Year, 2nd Team All-State, and scored over 1,000 points in her career.

Alexander, also 5'9, prepped at Randolph-Clay High School and averaged 16.5 points, seven rebounds, and just over five assists per game as a senior. Her squad was Region 1A champion and a Georgia Elite Eight participant with a record of 25-4.

Milton (5'5) played two seasons at Alabama State and started 19 games this past season for the Hornets. She averaged 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Milton played for former Lady Cougar Holly Pearson-McDaniel in high school at Fort Walton Beach High School and averaged 15 points per game, was a two-time All-State performer, and led the team to four district championships.

Bradford (5'10) averaged 17.4 points to go with 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.8 assists as a senior. She was named to the All-Region 4-AAAAA team and leaves Morrow High as the fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,226 points. 

Wright (5'11) averaged 13.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and two steals per game as a sophomore at Darton. She helped her team to a 17-13 season mark and was named to the Region 17 All-Tournament team.

Washington (6'0) averaged 18 points per game as a senior at Seminole County High this past season and earned Region 1-A Co-Player of the Year for the second straight year. She also averaged 10 rebounds and five blocked shots per contest as her team finished 14-7 on the season and appeared in the Elite Eight round of the playoffs. 

Matheney (6'2) was a solid performer at Palomar College this past season, averaging 14.4 points, nine rebounds, adn 2.2 blocked shots per game. She earned All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honors and helped her team to consecutive conference championships and a two-year record of 47-11.

Gilbert (6'1) was a teammate of Wright at Darton College and was solid in the post. She averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game to go with 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game for the season.

Norton and his staff could add at least one more player to the signing class in the coming weeks. The Lady Cougars are coming off a 17-11 season in 2009-10.