April 16, 2004
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Eastern Oklahoma Junior College sophomore forward Tonya Morris (Plano, Texas / Plano West HS) has signed a National Letter of Intent to enroll at the University of Missouri and play basketball, head coach Cindy Stein announced today. Morris becomes the fourth recruit of the 2004-05 recruiting class, which will be the first to play its entire career in Mizzou's new Paige Sports Arena which is slated to open this fall.
Morris, a 6-foot guard/forward, averaged 12 points and 5.1 rebounds last year for the Mountaineers, who finished 24-5 under coach Drew Sanders last season. She also was named to the All-Bi-State Conference First Team, and was named to the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Preaseason Tournament All-Tournament Team.
As a freshman, Morris was named to the All-Bi-State Conference First Team, and also earned All-Region 2 honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association.
"We are extremely excited about the signing of Tonya Morris. She was someone that we identified two years ago as someone that we felt could positively impact our team," Stein said. "Tonya has great court sense, the ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and others, and is also a strong defender. She will bring an experience factor that will be needed with such a young team returning."
Morris joins a trio of Midwest prep standouts - Brittany Mannings, a 6-foot-4 center from Duchesne HS in St. Louis; Kassie Drew, a 5-foot-9 guard from Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High, and Crystal Howard, a 5-foot-9 guard from Omaha (Neb.) Central High School - who signed in the fall recruiting period.
The Tigers lose five seniors - and are expected to return two starters and five other letterwinners - from this year's team that finished 17-13 after tying a school record with its fifth consecutive postseason appearance. Mizzou's NCAA Tournament appearance was its eighth in its history.
The women's basketball program will look to sign one more player during this spring signing period, which concludes May 19.