April 17, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Head coach Tammy George has announced the signing of two players to National Letters of Intent to play women's basketball at USC Upstate on Thursday. The Spartans will add Santa Fe Community College teammates Chelsea McMillan (East Gadsden, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.) and Kolesia Richardson (Ft. Walton, Fla./Santa Fe C.C.).

"We are really excited about these two new additions to our program," George said. "Combined with the two players we have already signed in Lesley Daniel and Kendra Wallace, we feel we have a group that has the ability to step in and help immediately, both offensively and defensively."

McMillan, a 6-0 sophomore forward, and Richardson, a 5-8 junior point guard, helped Santa Fe to a 20-8 overall record and a second place finish in the Mid-Florida Conference in 2007-08.

McMillan, who will enter Upstate with three years of eligibility remaining, averaged 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds during her first season of collegiate play for the Lady Saints to earn First Team All-Mid-Florida Conference honors. She also shot 47.7 percent (144-for-302) from the floor and 79 percent (79-for-100) from the free-throw line and added 0.9 steals per game. McMillan was a star at Gadsden High School, earning Second Team Class 3A All-State honors as a sophomore and Third Team Class 4A All-State honors as a senior. She averaged 17 points, 15 rebounds and three assists during her prep career, leading Gadsden to two state semifinals and earning team MVP honors as both a junior and a senior. She also played volleyball in high school and played AAU basketball with the Tallahassee Comets and Lady Superfriends.

"Chelsea's height and her numbers at the JuCo level are really the things that drew us to her," George said. "She brings immediate help at the post position where we need it the most. She's a great player than can score and rebound. We expect her to step right in an contribute."

Richardson, a 5-8 junior point guard, was the captain of the Lady Saints in 2007-08, averaging 5.1 points, 4.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. She was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference's Morehead State in 2006-07, appearing in six games and notching five points and four rebounds. During her prep career at Ft. Walton Beach, Richardson averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game as a senior. She finished her career eighth in scoring, first in rebounding and second in assists in Ft. Walton Beach's career record book. A four-year starter for Fort Walton Beach High School, Richardson was a two-time Second Team All-State selection in Florida and an Honorable Mention selection as a junior. She was also named the 2006 Northwest Florida Daily News Girls' Basketball Player of the Year as she averaged 14.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. In addition, Richardson was a four-time First Team All-County honoree and played in the Florida High School North/South All-Star Game. She led her team to three appearances in the FHSAA Class 5A final four.

"She'll bring immediate leadership and experience in the backcourt," George said. "We still have a very young team and Richardson will help solidify our lineup the next couple years and will give us multiple lineup options so we don't have to play any guards 35 or 40 minutes a game."

The duo of players joins Lesley Daniel (Collinwood, Tenn./Collinwood), a 5-5 point guard, and Kendra Wallace (Hurricane, W.V./Nitro), a 5-9 shooting guard, as members of the class of 2008-09.

Daniel has played the role of a true point guard well for Collinwood High School under coach Jason Morris. Daniel, during her career, has helped lead Collinwood to the Class A State Tournament as a junior and a District title as a senior along with Middle Tennessee State commitment Abby Andrews. The Trojans finished the 2006-07 season with a 30-5 record, falling in the first round of the state tournament to Trinity. As a senior, the Trojans went 23-7 and won the District 12-A championship by downing Wayne County, 43-35. During her junior season, Daniel averaged 14.5 points per game, helping her earn Second Team All-Times-Daily honors and All-6A Region honors.

Wallace finished her prep career as one of the most accomplished basketball players in West Virginia history for coach Scott Tinsley at Nitro High School. A three-time First Team All-State selection and one-time second-team selection in class AAA, Wallace has earned four all-conference and four all-county selections. A proven scorer, Wallace averaged 17.3 points per game as a freshman, 24.1 games as a sophomore, 25.5 points as a junior, earning the Teays Physical Therapy Center Cager of the Year award. Wallace posted two 40-point performances as a senior, including a career-high 45 against Riverside, and added five other 30-point games. She also hit nine 3-pointers in the game. As a senior, Wallace averaged 21.9 points per game, hitting 45 percent (85-for-190) of her 3-pointers and lighting up the scoreboard for 30 points five times, leading Nitro to a 21-3 record. Wallace, a runner up for State Player of the Year and her conference player of the year, was selected as the captain of the Class AAA all-state team during a season in which she helped Nitro to a ranking as high as No. 3 in the state. She also reached 2,000th points in her prep career and hit a state-record 85 3-pointers during the season.

The USC Upstate women's basketball team finished the 2007-08 season with a 5-24 overall record and a 1-15 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but return two players that saw their seasons cut short due to ACL injuries in freshman Oceana Jackson (Royston, Ga./Franklin County), who led all A-Sun freshmen in scoring and rebounding at the time of her injury, and one of the conference's top point guards in senior Courtney Bradley (Columbia, S.C./Columbia), who led the A-Sun in assists at the time of her injury. The team also returns junior Courtney Hawkins (Greer, S.C./Greer), who led the conference in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game.