The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a stellar freshman season on the junior college circuit and proving herself as one of the best players in the country on the Bahamian national team, Shanae Armbrister will test her mettle next season against National Collegiate Athletic Association competition.

Armbrister’s next step on her basketball journey will be with the University of Georgia Bulldogs after she signed a letter of intent to join the programme next fall.

Armbrister spent one season with Darton College in Albany, Georgia, where she became one of the most dynamic freshmen in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association.

The 6’2” wing last season was named a third-team All-American Association after she averaged 18.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Nationally, Armbrister ranked No. 23 in scoring average and No. 9 in free throw percentage (84.4).

Her sophomore year with the Cavaliers has been even better in leading her team to a 5-0 start

to the season. Armbrister is averaging 32.2 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Most recently, she posted a season high 40 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-45 win over Alabama Southern Community College. She shot 17-24 from the field including 6-9 from three-point range.

It was her second double double of the season following a 32-point, 13-rebound performance in a 107-69 win over Denmark Technical College.

Darton head coach Lea Henry reflected on Armbrister’s career at the school. “We are excited for her and we do appreciate all she has done here at Darton. She is a very special player. As a coach you don’t get a chance very often to coach a player like Shanea,” she said. “As good a player as she is she is a better person. She was recruited by numerous schools all over the country and I think this is where her heart told her to go and she needed to go.”

Georgia head coach Andy Landers expressed what he thought Armbrister would bring to the programme in a statement on the school’s athletic website.

“Shanae can help us in a number of ways,” Landers said. ” She gives us height, length and good basketball senses. She’s a terrific scorer and shooter with great range, but she can also finish at the rim. She can play multiple positions, either wing and has the advantage of two years of maturity and experience in a successful programme at Darton.”

Armbrister is the second signee for the Bulldogs during the NCAA early signing period.

In the offseason, Armbrister was a member of the women’s senior national team which finished fifth at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships in the British Virgin Islands last July. She finished second on the team, averaging 15.8 points per game.