Four Lady Saints Sign Four Year Letter of Intents
Following a 28-6 season that saw them finish in the Sweet 16 at the NJCAA National Tournament, four Seward County Lady Saint sophomores signed their National Letter of Intents to move on and play at the four year level next year Monday afternoon in a ceremony in Seward's All-American Room. Kyndal Davis is on her way to the University of Wyoming, Rebekah Hatchard will play at Montana State University, Brooklyn Artis will attend Indiana State University, and Jasmine Jordan will remain close to Liberal at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
Kyndal Davis signed with the University of Wyoming Monday and will have a lot of hardware in tow after an incredible sophomore season for the Lady Saints. Davis led Seward with 14.4 points per game and was third on the team in rebounding at 7.1 per night. She was a 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team All-Region selection for Seward and was named a member of both the Region VI and NJCAA National All-Tournament Teams. Davis came up huge for Seward in crunch time this season, scoring 16 or more points in seven of the Lady Saints final eight games of the 2015 season. She scored a career high 30 in the 1st round of the NJCAA National Tournament against Lake Region State and put up 29 in a pair of games at the end of the regular season. She will join a Wyoming program in the midst of their best run in school history after the Cowgirls posted their 10th winning season in 11 years in 2015. The Pokes were 16-14 overall last season and finished 10-8 in Mountain West Conference play. Davis will fit into an experienced Cowgirl roster that loses just three players from their 2015 squad. On choosing Wyoming Davis said "Coach Legerski and Coach Petrino showed a genuine interest in me from the start and when I went there I really felt the family atmosphere. It is a smaller town but they really support their programs, just like Seward and I am excited to play in front of fans like that again." When asked what she would miss most about Seward County Davis said "I will really miss my teammates. These last two years I have made friends that will last the rest of my life and I am so thankful for that."
Rebekah Hatchard will be headed to Big Sky Country to play for the Montana State Bobcats. Hatchard averaged 10.6 points and 3.4 rebounds during her sophomore season for the Lady Saints in 2015. Hatchard canned 57 three pointers last season, finishing her career with 75 makes from downtown. She scored in double figures 19 times on the year including a career high 22 point performance midseason against Barton. What doesn't show up on the stat sheet for Hatchard was her work on the defensive end where she routinely matched up against the opposing teams top player, limiting a number of the conference's best players to their season lows in points. Hatchard will go to Bozeman to join a Montana State team coming off of a 15-15 season that included a 9-9 mark in Big Sky play. There she will play for the Bobcats all-time winningest coach and former WNBA standout Tricia Binford who will begin her 11th year at Montana State in 2015-2016. On her decision of inking with the Bobcats Hatchard said "I really liked the team when I went there on my visit. They were all really nice and it felt like a great fit for me." When asked how Seward County helped her reach her Division I dream, Hatchard said "Coach Wynn helped me mature on and off of the court here in a year and a half. I joined the team at semester and had to catch on to things quick both on and off the court. " She also talked about the support of the Liberal community and said that she got the same feeling in Bozeman which helped make her decision an easy one.
Brooklyn Artis also signed a Division I Letter of Intent Monday as she will play at Indiana State University. Artis was a key piece to the Lady Saints puzzle this season, finishing third on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game and leading Seward in assists with 3.1 per night. After playing as a reserve for the first 11 games of the season, Artis started Seward's final 23 games of the year after Christmas break. She came up big when the Lady Saints needed her most this season, scoring 20 or more points eight different times including 34 in a road overtime win over Weatherford early in the season and 23 in the Lady Saints 1st round game of the NJCAA National Tournament against Lake Region. She was a 2nd Team All-Jayhawk West selection and was an Honorable Mention All-Region VI performer. Averaging 16 points per game during the Region VI Tournament, she was named an All-Tournament Team selection there as well. She will join an Indiana State squad coming off of a 17-13 campaign that saw them go 7-11 in Missouri Valley play. Artis will fit into a Sycamore roster that includes eight returners and currently three other transfers. Artis said of signing at Indiana State "I wanted to go somewhere that had a good program and that my family would be able to watch me play and Indiana State was the perfect fit for both." After being at Seward County for two seasons, but playing just one after a knee injury prematurely ended her freshman campaign she said "Being a Lady Saint has been amazing. My coaches and teammates challenge me every day and it was helped me become the player and person that I am today."
Jasmine Jordan will be staying a little bit closer to Liberal as she signed on the dotted line with Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Jordan played in all 34 games for Seward in 2015 including starts in both of the Lady Saints NJCAA National Tournament games. She averaged 3.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for Seward, scoring a season high 9 in 10 minutes of action against rival Garden City. Jordan's numbers don't tell her full story on her value to the Seward roster this season as she had six or more rebounds in a game eight different times including a career high 13 in the Lady Saints NJCAA National Tournament 1st round game against Lake Region State. Jordan should have a chance to step right in and contribute for the Aggies after OPSU struggled to a 3-25 season in 2015 and was 1-17 in Heartland Conference action. Jordan, a Chicago native laughed when she said one of the key reasons she signed with OPSU was that the coaches are Chicago Bulls fans. She also said she liked that it was close to Liberal which has become a second home to her. Then getting a little bit more emotional Jordan said "I transferred here to Seward not knowing what to expect. One year later, I leave this place with 10 sisters, this place has been so great for me."
Monday's signing marks the completion of the Lady Saints sophomore signing class. Seward sends four players to the NCAA Division I level and one to the NCAA Division II game.