May 21, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball program has signed J'Quita Babineaux to a national letter of intent, head coach Mike Morris announced on Wednesday.

"We are very excited to have Jay join our basketball family," Morris said. "She is a very versatile and skilled player that fills a need with our team. She will also provide a strong presence in the post. We believe she will be a positive addition to our program on and off the court, and she completes a very strong freshman class."

Babineaux (5-11, F, Springfield, Va./Robert E. Lee HS) was a nominee for the McDonald's All-America team this past season. She was also named first-team All-Region by the Northern Virginia Basketball Coaches Association and by the Washington Post as both a junior and a senior. As a senior, she was named third-team All-MET DMV, covering the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland.

In her junior season, she was named first-team All-Patriot District, and she was named to the All-Patriot District Tournament team.

For her senior season, Babineaux averaged 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She also made 83.0 percent of her free throws on the season.

Last season, Babineaux posted 15 double-doubles. She also had one triple-double, scoring 10 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists in a 30-point win over Westfield High School.

Babineaux is Samford's fourth signee for the 2008 signing class. She joins Paige Anderson, Erin Hogue and Jazmine Powers in this year's signing class.

Samford is coming off its third-straight winning season. In 2007-08, the Bulldogs set a program record for wins with a record of 23-9. The team reached the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the third year in a row.

In 2008-09, Samford will be moving to the Southern Conference after spending the last five years in the OVC.