Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Basketball Inks Five During Early Signing Period
11/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2001
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's basketball team has received national letters-of-intent from five student-athletes during the early signing period, head coach Charlene Curtis announced on Thursday.
For the second straight year, Curtis and her staff dipped into the talented pools of girls' basketball in the states of Maryland and Tennessee. After signing two players from Maryland and one from Tennessee last season, three members of the 2002 signing class hail from Maryland and one comes from Tennessee, while the fifth signee is local product from Winston-Salem.
"I am very excited about these five signees," Curtis said. "Porsche Jones and Sandra James provide the anchors from the point and center positions, while Cotelia Bond-Young, Keila Evans and Liz Strunk are versatile players who can play more than one position. Without a doubt, this is the most talented recruiting class Wake Forest has seen in a long time."
Porsche Jones * 5-3 * Point Guard * Winston-Salem, N.C. (Carver) Carver High School's Porsche Jones will remain in Winston-Salem to play basketball at Wake Forest. The 5-3 point guard led her team to the Class 3A state title in 2001, where she earned Tournament MVP honors. Jones was the 2001 Mary Garber Award recipient as the top female basketball player in North Carolina's northwest region and was a second-team all-state selection last season. As a junior, she averaged 14.8 points, 7.3 assists and three steals a game.
Cotelia Bond-Young * 5-7 * Guard * Landover, Md. (Elizabeth Seton) Cotelia Bond-Young hails from Landover, Md. and Elizabeth Seton High School, which finished the 2001 campaign with a 27-3 record and national ranking of 24th by USA Today. Bond-Young was named first-team All-Metro as a junior after averaging 18 points, six assists and five steals per game. Considered the top junior in the Washington, D.C. area last season and rated 58th among the country's top guards, Bond-Young once scored 40 points in a single game, leading her team to an 85-73 victory over O'Connell.
Keila Evans * 6-3 * Forward * Baltimore, Md. (St. Frances) Ranked 72nd nationally in this year's recruiting class by the All-Star Girls' Report, the 6-3 Keila Evans helped lead St. Frances Academy to the single A state championship last season, averaging 12 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks per game. A versatile athlete who can play anywhere from small forward to center, Evans was an honorable mention All-America selection by Street & Smith's.
Sandra James * 6-6 * Center * Columbia, Md. (Long Reach) Post player Sandra James will be the tallest player in WFU women's basketball history when she joins the Demon Deacon squad next fall. She averaged 10 points, 15 rebounds and three assists a game as a junior. The 6-6 athlete was invited to the prestigious adidas Top Ten Camp this past summer. James has also played for the Team Unique, one of the top AAU squads in the Washington, D.C. area that also produced current Wake freshman Meredith Bell.
Elizabeth Strunk * 6-1 * Guard/Forward * Chattanooga, Tenn. (Chattanooga Christian) Chattanooga native Liz Strunk was a finalist for the Miss Basketball award in Tennessee last season after leading her team to a 24-8 record and a fourth straight district title. She averaged 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game as a junior last year, earning regional MVP honors. She was also named to the all-district and all-state tournament teams while earning honorable mention All-Tennessee honors. Strunk was also the leading scorer for the Tennessee Prospects AAU squad.
