AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas women's basketball coach announced the signing Monday of All-State 6-4 post Ashley Lindsey (Pflugerville, Texas/Connally HS) to a National Letter of Intent for the 2005-06 season.
A three-time First Team All-State and First Team All-Region selection as a sophomore, junior and senior, Lindsey also was a 2005 McDonald's All-America Team nominee.
She becomes the seventh player to sign a Letter of Intent for the upcoming season. Lindsey is the final signee of the Longhorns' nationally-recognized 2005-06 class; the other six signed during the November early signing period. After the early signing period, this heralded class of six signees was ranked the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation by the All-Star Girls Report (ASGR) recruiting service and were the No. 2 ranked class by Blue Star Report's service.
Lindsey led Pflugerville Connally to the Texas State 4A semifinals in 2004 and 2005, where the Cougars tied for third in the State tourney each year. As a senior, she averaged 13.5 points, 10 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 2.7 steals per game for 32-5 Connally, which is coached by former UT guard Angie Jo (Ogletree) Hermesmeyer.
"Ashley has the potential to be an impact player for us," noted Conradt upon Lindsey's signing. "She has some of the same qualities that (graduated senior forward) Annissa Hastings brought to our team and showcased. Ashley can really run the floor - she might be the fastest player we have on the team next year, on a team with players who have lots of speed. She also has incredible defensive instincts."
Lindsey is a 2005 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) and Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) All-Star. She also was tabbed the 2005 Austin American-Statesman's Central Texas Player of the Year and the 2005 District 26-4A MVP.
As a junior in addition to her All-State and All-Regional honors, Lindsey was voted 2004 MVP of the Regional Tournament, First Team All-Centex (Central Texas) and District Defensive MVP. As a junior and senior, she also earned Academic All-District honors.
Lindsey will join the following six players to comprise the 2005-06 Texas basketball freshman class:
5-10 guard Erika Arriaran (Norco, Calif./Norco HS), the 2005 PARADE Magazine and State Farm/WBCA National Player of the Year and a consensus First Team All-American by McDonald's, USA Today, Gatorade, Street and Smith and Nike/WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) while averaging 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game as a senior; a member of the 2004 USA Basketball Junior National Team, Erika will attend the USA Basketball Team Trials next week for a spot on the National U19 Team;
5-11 forward Crystal Boyd (Little Rock, Arkansas and Parkview High School, a 2005 McDonald's All-America Game participant and Nike/WBCA All-America Honorable Mention pick; Boyd averaged 19.5 points and 4.3 assists per game as a senior and led Parkview to two state championships games while being named the 2004 state championship MVP;
6-3 post Aubrey Cook (Houston, Texas/Cy Fair HS), a Street and Smith All-American and All-State standout who was rated the No. 22 top recruit nationally by the All-Star Girls Report overall and a top 10 post player entering her senior year; Cook played in the 2004 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival where she suffered a knee injury which forced her to miss the entire 2005 high school season;
5-7 guard Carla Cortijo (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire HS), a member of the Puerto Rico National Team which won the silver medal at the most recent Pan American Games (2002); prior to her senior year (which she missed with a knee injury), Carla was ranked No. 10 overall nationally and the nation's top point guard by the All-Star Girls Report (ASGR);
6-3 post Mariana Mergerson (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville HS), a PARADE All-America Fourth Team pick and All-Stater who averaged 10.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists and helped Duncanville reach the Class 5A Region I quarterfinals; rated as the No. 8 player in the nation (by ASGR) and in the Top 25 in all other recruiting services
6-0 guard Earnesia Williams (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS), a consensus First Team All-American by McDonald's and Nike/WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) and the 2005 Gatorade State Player of the Year while averaging 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists points for Sapulpa HS; she played in both the 2005 McDonald's and WBCA High School All-America Games; along with Arriaran, Earneisa will attend the USA Basketball Team Trials next week in an attempt to gain a spot on the National U19 Team.
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