Southern women's basketball adds three for 2012-13
Joplin, Mo. -- Missouri Southern women's basketball coach Maryann Mitts has announced the signings of three individuals to national letters of intent to attend Southern and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2012.
The group of student-athletes includes two junior college transfers and one high school athlete.
"We are very excited about these three additions," Mitts said. "Obviously, their statistics and accolades speak for themselves. We feel that each will provide a versatility that will be effective on both ends of the floor. All three of these players bring improved length and athleticism to our squad. Most impressive is that all three of these players are multi-faceted and are 'well-rounded' players. They have each proven that they can produce big numbers on the offensive end of the floor."
Jolee Sharp is a 5-9 native of Fort Scott, Kan. and transfers to Southern after two years at Fort Scott Community College. While at Fort Scott, Sharp was a two-time All-Jayhawk Conference pick, being named first-team this past season. As a sophomore, Sharp averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free-throw line.
She was named the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week three times and was named the National Junior College Player of the Week once during her sophomore season. She scored 872 career points at FSCC, while knocking out 16 career double-doubles and two triple-doubles. As a sophomore, she led the conference in steals with 135, while ranking eighth in blocks, and finishing seventh in the nation in steals.
Sharp was a four-year starter at Fort Scott High School where she is the school's all-time leader in scoring. She also holds the school record for scoring in a game (34), a season (451) and finished her career with 1,117 career points. She holds school records for single-season field goal percentage, career field goals and free throws made, single season three point percentage, and finished second in career steals and third in rebounds. She was a three-time All-Conference and All-State pick and finished off her career averaging 21.0 points per game as a senior. The daughter of Kirk and Frances Sharp, Jolee will be a Health Promotions major at Southern, pursuing a career in Sports Management.
"Our program will benefit immediately from Jolee's athleticism," Mitts said. "Her ability to score the basketball in a multitude of ways is impressive, but it is her length on the defensive end that makes her very effective. She will provide instant offense, improve our rebounding and provide defensive production."
Johnna Tenberge is a 5-9 native of Huntsville, Ark. She played one season at Arkansas Tech University, before transferring to North Arkansas College for this past season. As a freshman at Arkansas Tech, Tenberge played in 34 games, averaging 10.9 minutes per contest. She scored 2.1 points per game, while pulling down 1.9 rebounds and shooting 82 percent from the free throw line.
Last season at North Arkansas, Tenberge played in just seven games due to a knee injury, but averaged 16.4 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. She averaged 48 percent from the field and 97 percent from the free-throw line. A graduate of Huntsville HS, Tenberge was ranked as the top shooting guard out of the State of Arkansas in 2009. She averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free-throw line. The daughter of John and Connie Tenberge, Johnna will major in Health Promotions at Southern, aspiring to attain a degree in physical therapy.
"Johnna is a strong, versatile guard who is a pure shooter with a quick release," Mitts said. "Her shooting consistency and ability to score the basketball is well-documented which will improve our backcourt production. She is a high-energy player who will fill an immediate threat beyond the arc especially in transition and within our offensive sets."
Sharese Jones is a 5-8 combo guard from St. Charles, Mo. where she played at Francis Howell Central High School. A four-year starter for coach Brian Ricker, Jones was a four-time All-Conference and All-District selection, while picking up All-Metro and All-State honors as a senior and being named the GAC South Conference Player of the Year.
Jones was named to the All-Tournament teams of three different tournaments each year at FHCHS, while being named the Lutheran High School Tournament MVP in each of her junior and senior seasons. In her four-year career at Howell Central, Jones averaged 16.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals, while tallying 1,910 points, and 841 rebounds. She averaged 20.4 points as a senior, while averaging 17.0, 17.2 and 12.1 points per game in each of her previous three years.
Jones comes from a line of highly successful basketball players as both her father Ron and her sister Shakara played basketball at the University of Missouri. Shakara was a four-year starter for the Tigers and is currently playing professional basketball in Greece. The daughter of Ron Jones and Anita Squires-Jones, Sharese plans to major in Health Promotions at Southern, aspiring to attain a degree in physical therapy.
"Sharese is a strong powerful player who should adjust quickly to the physicality of the MIAA," Mitts said. "She handles the ball and has the shooting touch from long range like a guard, but her strength and explosiveness allows her to be very effective at the power forward position. We are so excited to sign a player with such strong basketball ties; we believe she will have a great career at Southern."
