MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head women's basketball coach Terry Fowler announced on Friday that six high school seniors have signed National Letters-of-Intent and will join the program next fall.
The group includes four guards — Trinity Garrett, Nadia Howard, Jordan Rosier and Tyrielle Williams — along with forward Emani Burks and center Deborah Reese.
"We knew we needed to get at least one individual at every position," Fowler said. "We wanted some shooting and that's where Jordan and Nadia come in, they're guards who gave us the length we wanted. Trinity and Tyrielle are combo guards with defensive prowess who can lock down opposing players and press full court, they can also score and create for others. When you look at the post position, Deborah is tall and athletic with a good, strong body and can score inside and outside while Emani is going to remind people of Chyna Ellis except she shoots the three already.
"We are really excited about this group, they remind me of our first recruiting class here. I expect them to do big things."
Click here for bios on South Alabama's 2020-21 women's basketball signing class
Burks, a 6-foot-2 forward from Melbourne, Fla., was a second-team all-Space Coast selection a year ago at Florida Prep after posting averages of 9.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game to go along with 47 assists, 34 steals and 27 blocked shots. She finished with eight double-doubles on the season, with two of those coming in the postseason as she helped the Falcons win the state 2A championship on the way to a 24-7 final record. She played her first two years at Palm Bay High, helping the Pirates go 14-12 when she was a freshman, and will once again play for the school her final season at the prep level.
A Spring Branch, Texas, resident, Garrett enters her senior year at Smithson Valley HS holding the school's records for assists in a game (nine), season (116) and career (272) as well as career steals (224) and has helped the Rangers to multiple 20-plus win seasons in a row for the first time in program history. The 5-foot-6 guard — who is a three-star prospect according to World Exposure Report and among the organization's top 30 recruits in the state — averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, four assists and three steals per game during the 2019-20 campaign to be named all-region, all-district and all-area as well as the district defensive player of the year.
Howard was forced to miss her junior season after injuring her knee while playing with the Finnish national team last summer, but she averaged 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest while adding 84 assists and 98 steals the previous year at Grayson High. A 5-foot-8 guard from Loganville, Ga., she scored 10-plus points on 21 occasions as a sophomore while helping the Rams finish 26-3 overall following a victory in the opening round of the state tournament. As a freshman, Howard posted 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest, 27 assists and 53 steals as GHS won its first-round playoff game on the way to a 17-11 finish.
Reese — who hails from Fort Pierce, Fla. — averaged 12.1 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior at Lincoln Park Academy, recording 17 double-doubles, 78 blocks and 40 steals; after helping the Greyhounds post a 22-6 overall record while earning a berth in the class 4A regional final, the 6-foot-1 center was named first-team all-area. Reese scored 10.4 points and grabbed 10.4 rebounds per outing her sophomore year, and was credited with 87 blocks and 40 steals as LPA finished 24-5. Her mother and father, Patricia (Ingram) and Stewart Reese Sr., have been inducted into the Athletic Halls of Fame at South Alabama and Mercer, respectively, while both of her older brothers currently play football at Florida.
Entering her senior season at Florida State University HS in Tallahassee, Rosier has averaged 15.0 points per game while scoring over 1,200 points during her varsity career. She posted 21 games with a double-figure scoring total in 2019-20, highlighted by a season-best 28 in a win over Godby HS, as her efforts helped lead the Seminoles to a 19-6 overall mark and a first-round victory in the state 3A tournament. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 17 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest and was credited with 70 assists as a sophomore as FSUHS advanced to the regional final in the state 5A tournament on the way to a 20-9 finish, while she scored 14.6 points per game her freshman year to aid the Seminoles in advancing to the regional finals and a 21-4 record.
Williams has posted more than 1,000 points and 500 assists in her career going into her final season at Ursuline Academy. A 5-foot-7 guard from New Orleans, La., she helped lead the Lions to the semifinals of the state Division II tournament a year ago with averages of 16.2 points and 4.3 assists per outing, and after improving her three-point field-goal percentage by eight points Williams was chosen first-team all-state, all-district and all-metro. The McDonald's All-American nominee — who has also been named to the Clarion Herald's Elite Basketball Team each of the last two years — guided UA to a 24-8 final mark and the semifinals of the state tournament as a sophomore, while her freshman season the Lions finished 26-4 en route to winning the state title.
The Jaguars have finished .500 or better each of the last three seasons, and will open the 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday, Nov. 25 with a noon (CST) tip against Mobile at the Mitchell Center.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
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