Norfolk State Women's Hoops Announces 2018 Signing Class

NORFOLK, Virginia --  Norfolk State women's basketball head coach Larry Vickers announced on Friday the addition of the five-member 2018 recruiting class. The class features a pair of high school standouts and three junior college transfers.

"I am excited to announce my third women's basketball class here at Norfolk State University," Vickers said. "We think we have a great class, not only in terms of basketball abilities, but who they are as young women. Every piece fits the overall scheme of what we want to bring to NSU to win a championship."

Jameila Barrett
5-9 G, Baltimore, Md.

Barrett signed with NSU in the fall of 2017 and attended Catonsville High School in Catonsville, Maryland. Barrett led Catonsville to the 2018 Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) Class 4A state championship game as a senior and averaged 18.2 points, four assists and four steals per game.

"Barrett is a very good defender and takes pride in it," Vickers said. "She is the perfect size as a combo guard and will be tough to guard."

The 5-9 guard garnered first team Class 3A/4A all-state honors from the Maryland Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) in 2018 and was a MBCA All-Academic honoree. Barrett joined the 1,000-career point club as a senior and made the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro second team.

Barrett's junior season saw her named to the MBCA All-Academic team and the All-Baltimore County first team. The Comets claimed the MPSSAA Class 4A state title in 2016-17, and Barrett averaged 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds and tallied over 100 steals on the season. In the Class 4A semifinal, Barrett exploded for 26 points and five rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting.

"Barrett is very inquisitive about life and about the game of basketball," Vickers said. "She is also an incredible student that will fit into our Spartan culture."

Dana Echols
5-5 G, Auburn, Ala.

Echols joins Norfolk State after two seasons at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she teamed up with current Spartans Kendrea Dawkins and Raven Russell in 2016-17.

During the 2017-18 campaign, Echols received second team All-Region 22 North Division honors after starting all 37 games for the Bucs and averaging 8.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 steals in 23.6 minutes per game. The Auburn, Ala. native shot 41.1 percent from deep, the 36th-best mark in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division-I, on nearly three attempts per game and ranked inside the top-10 nationally in assists (210, fourth), steals (112, sixth) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0, 10th).

"We are extremely impressed by Dana's 3-point shooting, ball handling and her overall experience," Vickers said. "We hope she will bring a great deal of maturity, instinct and leadership. She has proven that she can make everyone on the court better."

The Bucs ran through the regular season in 2017-18, going 29-0 and 13-0 in Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) North Division contests. Shelton State CC also claimed the ACCC Tournament championship and reached the semifinals of the NJCAA D-I Tournament, where its perfect season was spoiled by an overtime buzzer-beater. The Bucs rallied with a blowout win in the consolation game to finish the year 36-1.

As a freshman, the 5-5 guard averaged 6.4 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals in 16.1 minutes per game as the Bucs posted a 34-3 record, won the ACCC and placed third at the NJCAA D-I Tournament. Echols averaged nearly one 3-pointer per game while leading all Shelton State CC qualifiers in 3-point percentage (39.3).

Echols joined Shelton State CC from Auburn High School in Auburn, Ala., where she was a four-year contributor on the varsity women's basketball team. As a senior, Echols averaged 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game and was named first team Class 7A All-State by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) and player of the year by the Opelika-Auburn News.

Danyael Goodhope
5-5 G, Norfolk, Va.

Goodhope returns home to Hampton Roads from Odessa College in Odessa, Texas, where she appeared in 30 games for the Lady Wranglers during the 2017-18 season, averaging 4.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 11.4 minutes per game. The 5-5 guard turned in an 11-point, five-rebound performance in the Region V championship game against New Mexico Junior College and reached double figures in scoring four times, including a season-high 18 points against Palo Alto College.

"Danyael is an experienced guard who has played at three high-level programs, including local powerhouse Princess Anne High School," Vickers said. "We saw a powerful player that plays non-stop, is always alert and is never standing still."

Goodhope transferred to Odessa from Winthrop, where she played in 24 games as a freshman in 2016-17. At Winthrop, Goodhope made 16 starts and averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.2 minutes per game. She was named Big South Conference Freshman of the Week on Dec. 19, 2016 after scoring 10 points against No. 3-ranked Baylor and adding a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds against Mercer.

Goodhope competed for four years at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, where she was a three-time Virginia High School League (VHSL) Group 5A state champion. She was named a team captain for her senior campaign in 2015-16 and earned first team All-Atlantic Conference honors while being named the conference's defensive player of the year. Goodhope also earned All-5A South Region honors as a senior and made the 2016 Virginian-Pilot All-Tidewater second team.

She is the daughter of former NSU standout and Dallas Cowboys running back Orlando Goodhope. Her older sister, Galaisha Goodhope, played women's basketball at both Old Dominion and VCU.

Shekinah Howard
5-10 G, Atlanta, Ga.

Howard joins the Spartans from Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia, where she averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the 2017-18 Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class 7A state champions.

"Howard is an extremely versatile player," Vickers said. "She could play anywhere from primary ball handler to two guard, small forward or power forward, depending on matchups and what we are trying to accomplish. She has great length and talent."

Westlake blitzed through the 2018 GHSA state tournament, out-scoring opponents by nearly 20 points in five contests. The Lions won 29 games in 2017-18 and received a postseason invitation to the Geico High School Nationals Tournament.

Howard averaged 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds as a junior, was named the team's most valuable player and received first team GHSA All-Region 2 honors. The 5-10 guard was also named to the GHSA All-Region 2 first team following her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Le'Deja James
5-8 G, Virginia Beach, Va.

A local product, James comes to Norfolk State from South Georgia Technical College in Americus, Ga., where she played two seasons.

James' sophomore season saw the 5-8 guard average 15 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in 25.9 minutes per game. She shot 62 percent from the field, ranking sixth in NJCAA D-I, and 82.6 percent from the charity stripe. The Virginia Beach native garnered Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Player of the Week honors for four-consecutive weeks, setting the South Georgia Tech record for most player of the week accolades in a single season.

"James is a guard that should be able to affect the game in many ways as a scorer or facilitator," Vickers said. "She can score off the bounce and possesses great athleticism. With the seniors we lost it is the perfect time to add such a versatile guard."

As a freshman in 2015-16, James made 29 appearances for the Lady Jets, starting three times and averaging 7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.5 assists and 24.0 minutes per game.

A four-year varsity contributor at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, James graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer.

James averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game for the Patriots as a senior and led South Hampton Roads in scoring. The All-Coastal Conference Player of the Year, she also received All-Coastal Conference first team honors and was named to the All-Group 6A South Region first team.

As a junior, James averaged 18.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 steals and racked up first team mentions on the All-Coastal Conference and All-Group 6A South Region teams.

"Each player comes from a terrific family and every player knows how to win," Vickers said. "They are unselfish players that complement each other well."

The Spartans return seven players from last year's 18-win squad, including starters Khadedra Croker, Alexys Long, Russell and All-MEAC Rookie Team honoree Armani Franklin.

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