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UNCG inks two to National Letters of Intent
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG's women's basketball program has signed prep seniors April Carson and Jarae Savage to National Letters of Intent to play for the Spartans next season, coach Lynne Agee announced Friday.
Carson, a 5-9 guard out of Weston, Fla., is ranked the 62nd-best shooting guard nationally by SheCanPlay.org. One of the South Florida Sun Sentinel's top 10 players to watch in Broward County this season, Carson was featured as the ESPN RISE Girl Athlete of the Day on Oct. 20, 2010. As a sophomore in 2008-09, Carson helped Nova High School to district and regional championships, its first-ever Class 5A state title game and a school-best 27-4 record.
"She's a shooter, but she can do other things, too, which is why we like her," UNCG associate head coach Carol Peschel said. "She's a lefty with a pretty stroke. She can score, create her own shot. We're trying to get more multi-dimensional, and she's not just a shooter. She's not a point guard, but she is a good passer. She's tough and strong."
As a member of the South Florida Lady Jaguars, Carson has helped the team to numerous tournament championships and was named MVP of the 2010 Peach State Hoops Championship. Carson also helped the club to a No. 1 national ranking when she was a member of the 14-and-under team.
Savage, 5-8 point guard out of Marietta, Ga., was a first-team All-Metro selection and the Marietta Daily Journal's Cobb County Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2010. Savage helped North Cobb High School to a 24-5 record last season, a 21-8 record in 2008-09 and an 18-10 record in 2007-08, good for the top three win totals in school history. As a junior last season, Savage helped the Lady Warriors to a 16-2 record in Region 5AAAAA and their first regular-season region championship. She also led North Cobb to the second round of the Class AAAAA state tournament.
"Jarae's a good combo guard," Peschel said. "She's very athletic. She has a lot of skills; she's good at penetrating and finding other people, and she can also score. Jarae's a great defender who can get open at any time. She's fast and explosive, but controlled. She's skilled and can shoot, with a nice pull-up jumper."
As a member of the Georgia Elite 16U AAU team, Savage helped the Elite to the state AAU title in 2010. Off the court, Savage took third place in her age group and weight class in the 2009 USA Weightlifting National Schoolage Championships.
"We're replacing one class with another class, really," Agee said. "We're graduating a 2 and a 3 in Amanda Leigh and Monique Floyd, who have been multi-year starters and scorers."
Peschel agreed.
"We're trying to replace all of the things that Mo and Leigh bring, knowing that that's not going to happen immediately," she said. "But in a year, these two can be really nice wings who can play together."
- UNCG -
