The North Texas women’s basketball roster has six new eligible players for the 2019-20 season, which begins on Nov. 3. There are six returners coming back to the Super Pit this winter: senior post Anisha George, redshirt junior forward Madison Townley, junior forward Deja Terrell, sophomore forward Charlene Shepherd, junior guard Trena Mims and redshirt junior guard Callie Owens.
Of the six new players, five are freshmen and the Mean Green are introducing a transfer player. Each bring a different playing history and experience, but they all bring with them accolades and honors.
G N’Yah Boyd
Boyd is a freshman from Horn High School in Mesquite, Texas, where she was an All-District player each of her four years in high school. Her senior year, she averaged 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists, leading her team to a 22-11 record. Boyd was nominated to be a 2019 McDonalds All-American player and was named the MVP of District 11-6A for two seasons.
This season, Boyd said she is working on improving her communication and leadership skills. She said she hopes to bring a fast pace to the team and wants to push the tempo.
“I’m excited to be able to play with new people and a new coaching staff,” Boyd said.
G Jazion Jackson
A freshman from Dallas, Jackson averaged 13.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 1.0 blocks her senior year at Skyline High. Jackson was an All-State selection for the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and the Texas Girls Coaches Association for the 2018-19 season. She also made the 2019 Dallas Morning News Third Team All-Area.
Other awards include a McDonalds All-American nomination, District 8-6A MVP and First-Team All-District Selection.
“I plan to put the ball in the hole whenever it’s needed, I plan to be a defensive threat, I plan to be an offensive threat, I just plan to be an all-around player,” Jackson said.
She said she wants to focus on keeping her pace and the team’s tempo up.
“[I’m] just trying to make the right decisions when everybody’s out of breath, everybody’s tired,” Jackson said. “Just trying to keep my team together.”
G Summer Jones
Jones is a junior transfer from Seminole State College, a smaller junior college in Oklahoma. Last season as a starter, she averaged 13.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists, shooting 44 percent from the field, 40.5 from three and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line. She once had a career-high eight 3-pointers in a game.
Jones is the only eligible transfer for the Mean Green this season as the others transferred from Division I colleges and thus aren’t eligible to play this season.
F Destinee McDowell
McDowell is a freshman that attended Trimble Tech High in Fort Worth for three years and Cedar Hill High for her senior year. She was District Defensive MVP and District MVP during her time at Timble Tech. McDowell was also a TGCA All-State selection and a McDonald’s All-American nominee this year. Last January, she made a go-ahead jump shot against DeSoto High , which was second in the standings to Cedar Hill. During her senior year, she averaged 12.5 points, eight rebounds, 3.1 steals, 2.5 assists and 1.6 blocks.
“I’m just focused on bettering the game all around: My communication skills, leadership, ball handling, shot, everything,” McDowell said.
G Keira Neal
Neal is a freshman from Santa Fe High in Oklahoma. She was an All-State selection for the Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association and Defensive Player of the Year for the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference. This year The Oklahoman selected her as the Big All-City Player of the Year and was a Super 5 selection. Her senior year she averaged 11 points, six rebounds and more than 10 assists.
G Randi Thompson
A freshman from Frisco Liberty, Thompson is a 2019 Dallas Morning News All-Area First-Team selection, a Class 5-A UIL State All-Tournament selection and a TABC all-state selection. She suffered through two ACL tears in high school and still managed to reach the 1,000 point benchmark in her playing career. Last February, she hit a buzzer-beater to force overtime in the 5-A Region II finals and led her team to the state championship.
The Mean Green’s first game is an exhibiting game against Texas Woman’s on Sunday, Nov. 3 at The Super Pit.
Featured Image: Freshman guard Jazion Jackson blocks a shot from junior forward Deja Terrell during a drill at practice on Sept. 26, 2019. Image by Jordan Collard
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily