May 10, 2007

CONTACT: Luke Brymer, Sports Information Assistant, Wallace State
Community College, luke.brymer@wallacestate.edu, 256/352-8231



Sophomore Lady Lions Basketball Players Sign Four-Year Scholarships



HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The Wallace State-Hanceville women's basketball team
is sending four sophomores to universities this year, three on
scholarship to continue their basketball careers. Tameka Dukes will be
headed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Cassi Stuart is
going to Jacksonville State. Jessica Gowan will be playing for Auburn
University Montgomery. Jackie Townsend, who received several offers to
play has decided to pursue a nursing degree at Auburn University, where
she received an Alumni scholarship.



Cassi Stuart transfer to Jacksonville State, Jessica Gowan to UAB, Tamika
Dukes to UAB


"I'm proud of all of them and their accomplishments," head coach Larry
Slater said. "They all worked hard and are being rewarded for it."



Tameka Dukes, a Lady Lions forward from Birmingham, had a strong season
and ended the year leading the division with 17.9 points per game. Her
scholarship with UAB is a full scholarship for athletics.



Slater said, "Dukes was a tremendous asset for us this season. She had a
great attitude and work ethic. She knew is wasn't about her and wanted
to help the team get as far as it could. I have no doubt that she will
be an impact player for UAB next season. She really improved over the
course of this season and matured as a player and a person. I'm looking
forward to seeing what she brings to the UAB team."



Stuart, of Rome, Ga., who received a full athletic scholarship to
Jacksonville State, was a point guard for Wallace State. While at
Wallace, she was fifth in the division in assists per game with an
average of 3.8. Slater said that ranking goes along well with her play
on the team.

"Stuart really does a great job of leading on the court. She is a
tremendous point guard and is very unselfish. She really looks for ways
to get the ball to her teammates. She could shoot and she was great on
defense as well. She will make a difference at Jacksonville."



Gowan, of Ringgold, Ga., also signed a full athletic scholarship to AUM.
She was another forward for Wallace and loved to shoot from the outside.
She was consistent from behind the arc and ranked third in the division
in three point percentage at 40 percent.



Jessica Gowan, center, with her parents Mike Gowan and Connie Gowan. Back
row: AUM head coach and interim AD Steve Crotz, Wallace State head
basketball coach Larry Slater, AUM assistant coach Allison Gregory



"Jessica is a great outside shooter. She can really knock down the shots
from outside but isn't afraid to mix it up inside either. She is a very
physical athlete and really helped open the floor for us as she hit from
outside and came down in the lane as well."



Slater said, "Our sophomores have really helped lead the team this year
and have brought a lot of chemistry to the team. I'm really excited for
the girls that are moving on, and it's great as a coach to see your
players go to a university. I see it as a mark of being successful as a
coach."



"We had a lot of girls this season that could have gone to four-year
universities but decided not to. LaDonna Hardy and Jessica Shearer could
have moved on but chose not to, and Jackie Townsend was offered a
scholarship to play for Birmingham Southern but decided to go to Auburn
on an academic scholarship instead."



Townsend and Dukes carried All-Academic honors this season for the Lady
Lions. Townsend, of Arab, finished Wallace State with a 4.0 grade point
average and was named as an academic All-American. She received awards
for Leadership, Who's Who and the Associate in Science Transfer Program.
Dukes was named as an honorable mention athletic All-American.



"I'm really proud of both Townsend and Dukes," Slater said. "Dukes
really excelled on the court and became a really strong player for us.
She worked hard and it paid off when she played. She was an excellent
asset to the team on the court."



Jackie Townsend at the Wallace State Awards Night ceremony, where she
received a program award and awards for 4.0 GPA and Leadership. Townsend
will attend Auburn University this fall on an Alumni scholarship.


"Townsend has really overcome some adversity to get where she is. She
blew out her knee and has had two surgeries since she's been at Wallace.
She worked hard at her physical training to get back in playing shape,
and through all of the pain, surgeries and rehabilitation, she was able
to keep a 4.0 GPA and get back to the team this year. I'm proud of her
for overcoming what would have ended a lot of players' seasons."



For more information about Wallace State basketball, visit
www.wallacestate.edu or www.acccsports.org.

  Kristen Holmes
  Director, Communications and Marketing
  Wallace State Community College
  P.O. Box 2000
  Hanceville, AL 35077
  256/352-8118
  E-mail: Kristen.Holmes@WallaceState.edu