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| UD women's basketball announces additions |
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4:15 p.m., July 1, 2003--University of Delaware women’s basketball Head Coach Tina Martin has announced the signing of two high school standouts and the addition of two transfer students for the 2003-04 season.
Signing NCAA national letters of intent to attend UD are 5-foot, 8-inch point guard Alena Koshansky from Fairfax, Va.; 5-10 guard Tyresa Smith from Dover; 6-3 center Kristy Gaines from Hagerstown (Md.) Community College; and 5-10 guard Geneva Livingston from the University of New Hampshire.
They join 5-7 point guard Liz Hayes from Easton (Pa.) High School, who decided on UD during the early signing period in November.
Koshansky capped an outstanding career at Chantilly High School this past winter when she averaged 19.8 points per game, set a school career scoring record with 1,874 points and was named the Associated Press Player of the Year in Virginia.
She was a four-year letter winner at guard for Chantilly, leading the squad to district titles and berths in the state tournament each of the last two seasons. The 2002-03 team went 22-6.
Koshansky averaged 18.1 points per game as a sophomore and 20.7 as a junior. She was a two-time All-State selection, a two-time first team All-Region selection, a three-time first team All-District pick, a two-time All-Metro selection and was named to the 2003 VirginiaPreps.com All-State team.
In addition she was the district tournament Most Valuable Player twice and the regional tournament MVP once.
She shot 81.2 percent from the foul line and nailed 34 three-pointers as a senior, and shot 88.2 percent from the line and collected 41 three-pointers as a junior.
A National Honor Society student, she scored 20 or more points 30 times over her final two seasons, including a career-high of 38.
Smith completed an outstanding career this past winter by leading Polytech High School to its first ever Delaware state high school title. A first team All-State and All-Henlopen Conference selection, she was also the state Gatorade Player of the Year and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee.
Smith averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior to lead Polytech to a record of 23-3 and a state championship game victory over Seaford at UD’s Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center. In the title game, she had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith also earned first team All-State honors as a junior when she averaged 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.0 steals per game.
Gaines, who will have junior eligibility this season, is a native of Newnan, Ga., where she was a standout at both Riverdale High School and East Coveta High School, earning All-State and USA Today Honorable Mention All-American honors her final two seasons at East Coveta.
She also was named to the Blue Chip Top 25 Players in the Nation list.
Gaines began her college career at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she appeared in 27 games with seven starts and averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game during the 2000-01 season. She transferred to the University of Maryland for the 2001-02 season and sat out as a redshirt before transferring to Hagertown Community College.
Last season at Hagerstown she averaged 16.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in 24 outings, including highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds. She also blocked 33 shots, shot 72.8 percent from the foul line and converted 25 three-pointers.
Livingston will sit out the 2003-04 season per NCAA transfer rules but will have junior eligibility in 2004-05. She is a native of Red Bank, N.J., where she was a standout at Red Bank Regional High School, leading the team to the Group III state title while earning All-State honors as a senior. She averaged 23.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as a senior.
Livingston enrolled at the University of New Hampshire where she played two seasons, averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. As a freshman, she was named to the America East Conference All-Rookie team. This past season as a sophomore at UNH, she started 16 games and was the team’s second leading scorer with 10.4 points per game.
The UD women’s basketball team has competed in postseason play each of the past three seasons, including an NCAA tournament appearance in 2001 and consecutive Women’s National Invitation Tournament appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Delaware has won 20 or more games each of the past four seasons, including a 22-9 mark last season when the Hens shared the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title with Old Dominion University.
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