Pair of Transfers, Paris JC's Gaines and Jones, Join NDSU Women's Basketball Program
5/31/2011 7:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
North Dakota State University head women's basketball coach Carolyn DeHoff announced today that 5-foot-8 guard Britney Gaines (Mesquite,Texas/Poteet H.S.), and 6-foot-1 center Catavia Jones (St. Paul, Minn./St Paul Central H.S.) have signed national letters of intent to play basketball and continue their education at NDSU.
Gaines and Jones are joining the Bison after transferring from Paris Junior College, located in Paris, Texas. The Dragons finished 18-12 overall and 10-8 in the Region XIV conference last year.
"Our staff worked extremely hard over the past few months contacting high school and junior college coaches and evaluating potential student-athletes. We are excited to add to our current incoming class the addition of these two junior college players, Catavia and Britney," says DeHoff, who completed her third season at North Dakota State.
"First and foremost, they are quality people, and secondly, they give us immediate experience. We addressed some needs in size, athleticism and competition in practice with the signing of these two players. We are eager for the start of next season.
During her Poteet High School career, Gaines earned
all-district honors and was named most valuable player (MVP) her senior year. She
played for G.I. Soldiers club team and was member of an AAU team that was
runner-up at a Nike Tournament held in Las Vegas.
While at Paris Junior College, Gaines was awarded the
Ambassador Award and All-Academic award. During her freshman year at Paris, she
helped lead the Dragons to the conference tournament semi-final game. Paris
made its first trip to tournament in over 20 years.
Born and raised in Texas , Britney is the daughter of
Raffaele and Jayneen Gaines. She has one sister, Whitney, and two brothers,
Raffaele and Nathaniel. Britney graduated from Paris Junior College in May with
her associate's degree. She plans to get her bachelor's degree in secondary
education.
During her prep career, Jones was a member of St. Paul
Central teams that went on a 32-0 run and won back-to-back state championships.
She attended the College of Central Florida for a year before transferring to
Paris Junior College. Jones was honorable mention on the All-Mid-Florida
Conference team as a freshman. A native of St. Paul, Minn., Catavia is the daughter of
Eric Ross and Carrie Jones. She has one sister, Jacquline. Jones will graduate
this August with her associate's degree. She will pursue her bachelor's degree
in veterinarian science.
In addition, 5-foot-10 guard Alisa Brown (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman H.S.) has been accepted to NDSU and will walk-on to the Bison program this fall. A three-time All-City pick, Brown averaged 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and reached 1,000 career points as a senior. An all-state tournament selection, she led O'Gorman to a state AA runner-up finish. Brown tied a record with six 3-pointers made in the state AA semifinal win over Aberdeen Central. An all-state and all-conference pick, she averaged 18.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in three state tournament games.
Gaines, Jones and Brown join the 2010-11 early signing class of freshmen, 5-foot-10 guard Jamie Van Kirk (Sutton, Neb./Sutton H.S.); 5-foot-9 point guard Kahla Becken (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial H.S.); 5-foot-9 wing Danielle Muri (Billings, Mont./Billings West H.S.), and 6-foot forward Elizabeth Keena (Hastings, MN/Hastings H.S.).
NDSU went 13-16 overall in 2011 including a 9-9 record in The Summit League. The Bison return seven letterwinners and three starters including all-league performer Abby Plucker.
