Women's Basketball | 12/9/2015 11:43:00 AM

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern head women's basketball coach Kip Drown recently signed three prep student-athletes to their National Letters of Intent (NLI) for the 2016-17 basketball season during the early signing period. Drown and staff added Amira Atwater from Douglasville County High School, Nakol Franks from Wren High School in Easley, S.C. and Victoria Stavropoulos out of Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill.

"We are very excited about the three players that we signed during the early signing period in November," stated Drown. "Not only are they outstanding basketball players but all three excel in the classroom and are high character people. All three come out of very successful high school and club programs and we look forward to what they will bring to our program."

Amira Atwater
 5-6 | PG | Douglasville, Ga. (Douglasville County HS)
Amira Atwater will join the Eagles next season out of Douglasville, Ga. and Douglas County High School. Entering her senior season, she has earned four varsity letters with the Tigers. As a junior during the 2014-15 campaign, Atwater was named her team's Most Outstanding Offensive Player and was named to the Peach State All-Tournament Team. During that season, she was also a two-time athlete of the week and was named to the All-County first team after averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals per contest. Outside of basketball, she is an A/B Honor Roll student.

Nakol Franks
5-7 | SG | Greenville, S.C. (Wren HS)
Nakol Franks hails from Greenville, S.C. where she has been a starter on the Wren High School varsity girl's basketball team since her eighth grade year and earned a spot on the varsity squad as a seventh grader. In her prep career, she has already accounted for 1,530 career points, over 300 rebounds, over 200 steals and has more than 160 three-pointers. The 2013-14 Max Preps Player of the Year, she has also been named to the All-Region team twice (2013-14, 2014-15) and is a two-time South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA) All-State selection (2013-14, 2014-15). As a junior in 2014-15, she was named to the High School Sports Report (HSSR) All-State team, the HSSR All-Rookie Team and was also named to the 2015 HSSR-SCHSL Statewide Girls Team. A three-year captain, including this season, Franks was named her team's Offensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) as both a sophomore (2013-14) and junior (2014-15) and is currently ranked as one of the top senior players in South Carolina by Southern Hoops after being a top-five senior in SC-AAA as listed by the SCBCA. Her team won the conference championship in 2012-13 and was the Upper State Finalist that same season. Away from basketball, she boasts a 4.8 GPA, is a Hurricane Scholar and member of her school's National Honor Society as well as the Beta Club and was her school's 2015 recipient of the West Point Award.

Victoria Stavropoulos
5-10 | F | Orland Park, Ill. (Sandburg HS)
Victoria Stavropoulos will be coming to Statesboro from Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill. having earned four varsity letters so far. During her junior campaign (2014-15), Stravropoulos averaged 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. She was named to the Hinsdale South All-Tournament team as a sophomore (2013) and junior (2014) and was named to the Oak Lawn Holiday Tournament All-Tournament team last year. As a junior (2014-15), she earned All-Area second team honors after being an honorable mention the year before. As a freshman during the 2012-13 campaign, Stavropoulos became the first freshman to play on Sandburg's varsity squad in 10 years and she was a member of the U16 Greek National Basketball Team.  She is currently in the top 20% of her graduating class and is a recipient of the Academic Achievement Award for her school. She plays club ball for the Mac Irvin Lady Fire under head coach Mac Irvin and they have won multiple tournaments during her time with the squad.


The Eagles are off this week to focus on exams but return to action at home with a pair of games in Hanner Fieldhouse next week. GS will first host Charleston Southern on Monday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. and then turn their attention to Robert Morris on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 11 a.m.

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