Lady Eagles Sign Three
2/15/2011 2:53:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Anna Claire Knight, Tashayla Steede and Kayla Upchurch will join the Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team for the 2011-12 season. The Lady Eagles will add two guards and a forward to next year's squad. All three hail from the state of Georgia.
"We expect all three of our incoming freshman to be major impact players immediately," said Head Women's Basketball Coach Rusty Cram.
Knight, a 5-10 guard from Dublin, Ga., just recently scored her 3,000th point for the Trinity Christian Crusaders. Knight scored an average of 24.0 points per game last season and has averaged nearly 20 points per game throughout her career at Trinity Christian and Head Coach Rick Johnson. Her team finished with a 31-2 record her junior season and she was named to the All-Region and All-State teams. The Macon Telegraph Player of the Year in 2009-10, Knight helped lead the Crusaders to a Georgia AA state runner-up finish. A two-sport athlete, she holds the school record in the Triple Jump and is a member of the school record-setting 4X100 Relay team. Anna Claire is the daughter of Ben and Kelly Knight.
"Anna Claire is a good-sized guard who can get to the rim, but her biggest asset is her shooting. She is a combination of Meredyth Frye and MiMi DuBose. She has scored over 3,000 points and won just about every award you can win. She is going to be a great addition to our program."
Steede, a 6-0 forward, from Marietta, Ga., plays for Wheeler High School where she was named Cobb County Player of the Month during her freshman season. Steede has earned two letters as a Wildcat and has served as the team's captain. She averaged 12 points and nine rebounds for her 17-under club team last summer. Tashayla was born in Deland, Fla., to Russell and Tina Steede.
"Tashayla is athletic and a strong rebounder and will provide an immediate presence to the post game. We have seen her play for the last couple of years and we are pretty excited about what she is going to bring to the table," stated Cram. "She certainly has some things she can work on but what she brings we can use immediately."
A four-year letterwinner and twice selected captain for Chattahoochee High School, Upchurch recently scored her 1,000th point. The 5-9 guard from Alpharetta, Ga., helped the Cougars to a 20-9 record last season and was named Region Tournament MVP. Her club teams have won more than 30 games in each of the last four seasons and captured the Georgia AAU state title in 2006 and 2007. Kayla is the daughter of Howard and Angela Upchurch and is planning on majoring in business at Georgia Southern.
"Kayla is a scoring point guard much like Jamie Navarro," said Cram. "She is a great distributor of the basketball and is a true point guard. She can shoot, get to the rim but also makes great passes and can run your offense."
Fans can follow the Georgia Southern Women's Basketball team by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/ladyeagles.
