Women Sign Five Basketballers

May 12, 2008

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State University has signed five women’s basketball players to letters-of-intent as coach Shelly Pond continues to secure some of the top available area talent to commitments.

Weatherford High School’s Courtney Harper along with recent Elk City High School graduate Jennifer DeGarmo and Harrah High School’s Holly Jennings make up the list of in-state signees. Erin Wright of Springdale, Arkansas and Holly Burt of Fort Worth, Texas complete the list.

“Each of these players will make us better in a number of ways,” Pond said. “They will add to our quickness, athleticism and give us some needed size on the perimeter. All have had success either in high school or as a college player. We think that will carry over for the rest of their career here at SWOSU.”

Harper, a 6-0 forward, and her Weatherford teammates twice qualified for the Class 4A state tournament, including winning it all in 2007. This year she finished as one of the top scorers (15.0 ppg.) and rebounders (7.0 rpg.) for the Eagles who finished the year with a 20-6 record.

DeGarmo, a 6-0 forward, will have three years of eligibility remaining after playing her first year at Wichita State.  She played in all 31 games for the Shockers and averaged 3.6 points and 1.3 rebounds. At Elk City, she averaged more than 18 points and nine rebounds during her high school career and was a two-time all-state selection by the Tulsa World and Daily Oklahoman.  She was a member of the Oklahoma Junior Olympic Team and a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a senior.

Jennings, a 5-7 guard, was on a Harrah High school team that advanced to the state tournament with a 22-4 record. She averaged 15 points and led the team in assists. She earned recognition on the Suburban Conference All-Star Team.

Wright, a 5-7 guard, played one season at Carl Albert Junior College after graduating from Springdale, Ark. She scored 20 points in the CAJC’s first-round regional tournament upset over Northern Oklahoma College – Enid.

Burt, a 5-7 guard, averaged 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds for her home school team in Fort Worth. She made nearly 39% of her three-point attempts and ranked as the team’s steal leader averaging 4.2 per game.