Lady Dawgs Sign Two

BASKETBALL

Junior college standouts Danielle Bennett and Marisela Rodriguez inked letters-of-intent with the Lady Dawgs today, the first day of the NCAA's spring signing period. Both players will join the program in the fall as juniors.

Bennett, a 5-10, wing originally from Springfield, Missouri, averaged 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Hillsborough (Florida) Community College Lady Hawks during the 2010-11 season. She was named the All-Mid Florida Conference Player of the Year after ranking among league's the top-10 individual leaders in scoring (third), rebounding (ninth), three-point percentage (fourth at .382), free throw percentage (third at .778) and steals (seventh at 2.7).

"We're excited to have Danielle," coach Andy Landers said. "She's a skilled player who can pass, handle and shoot. I'm especially impressed with her desire to be the best that she can be and her personal work ethic that has facilitated her continued improvement. She's already a solid perimeter player with the potential to become even better. She's a very welcome addition to our guard corps."

"Danielle is a great kid and a very impressive young lady," Hillsborough head coach Tommy Jones said. "She's the type of person where good is not good enough. She wants to be great. And that's at everything, on the court and in the classroom. She's probably best known for her shot. She's got a beautiful and incredibly accurate shot from 22-feet in. I think she's a much more athletic and well-rounded player than she's shown. She's coming to Georgia to make an impact, and I'm confident she has the skills and determination to do just that."

Bennett was named All-State for Class 5 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association as both a junior and a senior at Springfield Central High School. She played at SIU Edwardsville as a freshman, averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.1 rpg.

Rodriguez is a 6-4, forward from Garden City, Kansas, and Garden City Community College. She was a two-time All-Jayhawk Conference Western Division selection, earning first-team honors as a sophomore after being a second-team pick as a freshman. Rodriguez also was tabbed the Kansas Jayhawk Conference's Western Division Freshman of the Year in 2010. She averaged 11.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg as a sophomore.

"We're excited that Marisela will give us much-needed height and skill at the forward position," Landers said. "She impresses me in a variety of ways.

She has excellent mobility, a terrific touch and a very good repertoire of low-post moves. Perhaps even more exciting is her interest in continuing to discover how good she can really be. She has an outstanding foundation to build on, and I'm sure she'll continue to develop in every facet."

"Marisela has really grown in her two years here," Garden City head coach Alaura Sharp said. "She is exactly what every coach is looking for in a player...someone who will come in and do the work and even put in the extra time to help make sure they blossom into the player that they can become.

She's been an excellent representative of our program and has matured as a young woman during her time here, too. I'm excited she has the opportunity to continue her playing career and development at Georgia."

Rogriguez was named third-team All-State for Class 6A as a senior when she averaged 12.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg and 2.5 bpg while leading Garden City to its first state tournament appearance in 21 years.