By: Justin Wollard, Media Relations Director
BOLIVAR, Mo. -- SBU women's basketball head coach J.C. Carter has announced that Alexandria Dews, LaKendra Smith and Tanis Spani will join the Bearcats for next season. Dews and Smith, who were teammates at Cisco College, will be juniors when they begin with the 'Cats in fall 2010. Spani will enter SBU as a freshman.
These three players join
Ashlee Pitts and Anna Markovich, who signed with the Bearcats in the early part of the 2009-10 season.
Last year's Bearcats closed the season with a remarkable run, winning seven of their last nine regular season games to qualify for the MIAA Tournament before falling to top-seeded Washburn in Kansas City. SBU finished with 273 treys made in 28 games, an average of 9.8 per game, which ranked second in the nation in Division II.
Alexandria Dews
5-8 | Junior | Guard/Forward
Lancaster, Texas | Lancaster HS | Cisco College
HONORS: North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference All-Academic First Team (2009-10) ... NJCAA Academic All-American First Team (2009-10) ... NTJCAC Second Team All-Conference (2009-10) ... Defensive MVP (2009-10) ... Averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds over two years ... Team went 21-9 in 2009-10, the second most wins in school history
MISC: Coached at Cisco College by Cayla Petree ... Daughter of Deborah Dew and Robert Dews
COACH CARTER ON DEWS: "AD has the ability to play multiple positions. Her scoring talent and defensive ability to guard any position will allow her to make a major impact in our program."
LaKendra Smith
6-0 | Junior | Forward
Mesquite, Texas | Horn HS | Cisco College
HONORS: North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year (2008-09) ... NTJCAC First Team All-Conference (2008-09) ... NTJCAC Second Team All-Conference (2009-10) ... Averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds over two years ... Team went 21-9 in 2009-10, the second most wins in school history
MISC: Coached at Cisco College by Cayla Petree ... Daughter of Earl and Dee Smith
COACH CARTER ON SMITH: "We are excited to have Kendra as part of our program. She will provide us with scoring talent on the block and will give us an inside presence. With her high skill level, Kendra will be very successful here at SBU."
Tanis Spani
5-10 | Freshman | Guard
Kansas City, Mo. | Metro Academy
HONORS: 2010 National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships (NCHBC) First Team All-American ... Two-time NCHBC Second Team All-American ... Three-time NCHBC First Team All-Region ... NCHBC National Player of the Week (Jan. 2010) ... NCHBC National Champions (2006) ... Averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.7 steals per game in 2009-10 ... Helped teams to sixth place national finish in 2010, third place in 2009 and national runner-up in 2008
MISC: Daughter of Gary and Stacey Spani ... Father had ten-year NFL career with Kansas City Chiefs and is member of Chiefs and College Football Halls of Fame
COACH CARTER ON SPANI: "Tanis can shoot with great range. She will bring a high level of toughness to our team. She will help our program in many ways with her strength, shooting ability and basketball IQ."
