Lady Raiders sign notable quartet of standouts

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Head Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on the first day of the NCAA Early Signing Period Wednesday.

Joining Middle Tennessee in the Class of 2017 are Jadona Davis, a 6-foot-5 forward from Buckatunna, Miss.; LaSonja Edwards, a 6-1 forward from Gulf Coast State College; Anna Jones, a 6-1 guard from Jackson, Tenn.; and Kara Meadows, a 6-4 center from Clarkrange, Tenn.

Insell said this was a unique class in that Middle Tennessee was able to sign its most coveted prospects.

"Very seldom do you pinpoint players that you would like to have or that you would want, and then you are able to get all of them," Insell said. "This was a recruiting class where we felt like we got every young lady that we felt would fit into our system, and they would be Lady Raiders on and off the floor. We are excited. We got everybody that we wanted."
Jadona Davis | Forward | 6-foot-5 | Buckatunna, Miss. /Wayne Co. HS|
Davis is a heralded recruit who Insell says has an "unbelievable" ceiling. Davis had numerous offers from schools, including Alabama, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss, among others, before deciding to bring her talents to Murfreesboro and Middle Tennessee.

Davis was a Mississippi Sports Medicine 2015-16 All-Star Basketball participant. She also was selected as a Mississippi North/South Basketball All-Star, as well as an All-District performer.

Davis dominated the travel basketball circuit playing for Coach Carla Holder and the Conqueror Elite Basketball squad. She stars for Wayne County High School, under the direction of Hall of Fame Head Coach Gina Skelton.

"Jadona is athletic; she can run, jump and she has great touch, inside and outside," Insell said. "She is just so athletic and has a great personality. Jadona has a great work ethic. You see her stuff on her social media where she is in the gym working all of the time. I just think she will come in and be an unbelievable athlete in our system. I think down the road she has the chance to go into the WNBA but that will be up to her. She is that type of young lady and the next four years will be fun for her."

LaSonja Edwards | Forward | 6-foot-1 | Fort Pierce, Fla. /Gulf Coast State College|
Edwards helped lead Gulf Coast State College to the NJCAA National Championship in 2015-16, and is a focal point of the team's offense this season. Gulf Coast State College was ranked No. 1 nationally in the first NJCAA Top 25 poll this season.

Edwards, who hails from Fort Pierce, Fla., had a stellar prep career at Fort Pierce Central, where she scored more than 1,450 career points and pulled more than 1,000 career rebounds. Edwards was named First-Team All-Area in Florida after averaging 20.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.2 steals as a senior.

Of all Edwards' impeccable credentials, Insell said he appreciates her team-first attitude most.

"LaSonja is going to bring us what we need, and that is a team-first attitude," Insell said. "LaSonja is a very articulate young lady, very athletic and she can play above the rim. She is a team player. The first time that I met her I was convinced that she needed to be part of the Lady Raider program. She's about winning championships and that's what we are about."

Anna Jones | Guard | 6-foot-1 | Jackson, Tenn. /University School of Jackson|
Jones led west Tennessee in scoring with 26.6 points per game last season on her way to being named a Division II-A Miss Basketball finalist for the second straight season. The versatile all-around player also averaged 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She was selected the All-West Tennessee Girls Player of the Year in 2015-16.

The highly-decorated Jones has scored 1,957 career points for Head Coach Tony Shutes at USJ, where she also had 569 career rebounds, 353 steals and 76 assists.

Jones is a two-time Miss Basketball Finalist, a three-time All-State selection, a two-time district player of the year and the 2016 Jackson Sun Player of the Year.

Jones also starred for one of the top travel teams nationally, TN Flight, coached by Tom Insell, son of Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell. Jones helped lead Flight into the National Championship last summer.

"Tony Shutes has been a friend of mine for a long time and he is one of the best coaches in the state of Tennessee, and he believes Anna is a tremendous player, as do we," Rick Insell said. "Anna Jones is special. I saw her in the spring and during the early evaluation process in Louisville, and my only question was whether she was hard-nosed and tough enough to play big-time Division I basketball. I saw her do things where she was used out of position and undersized and never quit battling and battling. She made a believer out of me. I had to have her. She's got great touch. She's 6-foot, 6-1, very intelligent, high basketball IQ, shoots the 3, and goes off the dribble. We are very excited about what she brings into our program."

Kara Meadows| Center | 6-foot-4 | Clarkrange, Tenn. /Clarkrange HS|
Meadows is rated one of the top prospects in Tennessee and brings a wealth of credentials with her to Middle Tennessee.

The highly-regarded Meadows plays for one of the state's winningest coaches in Lamar Rogers at Clarkrange. Meadows was forced to sit out the 2015-16 season due to a torn ACL; however, her rehabilitation is going well and she is prepared for a big return for Clarkrange this season.

Meadows is another stellar standout who played on the travel circuit for Coach Tom Insell and TN Flight. She helped lead the team to the Elite Eight in 2015.

Meadows has 1,188 career points in two seasons at Clarkrange, to go with 448 rebounds and 147 blocks. Meadows broke the Clarkrange High School career field goal percentage record as sophomore with a 66 percent clip, besting her own mark of 62 percent as a freshman.

Meadows was named All-State, Region MVP, District MVP and was named to the TSSAA All-State Tournament team as a sophomore.

Coach Rick Insell said he saw all he needed to see from Meadows during her summer of domination in 2015.

"Kara dominated, just absolutely dominated the games and you are going against some of the top teams and talent in the country," Rick Insell said. "Kara Meadows held her own. She was unbelievable rebounding the basketball. Her touch was uncanny. I was just ecstatic with the summer she had.
She is a more of a power player. She is a great passer with great vision, good touch and when you get her inside, she is a legitimate 5 and that is what we recruited her for. She comes from a great family. In her case, I think our girls were the deciding factor. She just fit right in with our team. That's a big part of recruiting."

MIDDLE TENNESSEE SIGNING DAY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
HEAD COACH RICK INSELL
Opening statement:
There are two evaluation periods in July. We already knew we had to find some people at that post position. That was priority one. We had an idea of who we wanted as we went out for the first evaluation period. Our coaches came back and put our list together and when we went back out for the second evaluation period, nothing changed. Very seldom do you pin point players that you would like to have or that you would want, and then you are able to get all of them. This was a recruiting class where we felt like we got every young lady that we felt would fit into our system, and they would be Lady Raiders on and off of the floor. We are excited. We got everybody that we wanted.
We went hard and heavy. You will have to give (assistant coaches) Kim Brewton and Tom Hodges credit. They happened to be the coaches in charge of those athletes. They did an extremely good job with the players and their families.

Were there sleepless nights from when the players verbally committed until you received their signed papers?
You always have schools that are coming in who may have lost a player or missed out on somebody so they come back and try to recruit some of the players you have been recruiting and have commitments from. In our case, we were able to beat out some of these schools. I felt real good about the situation because of the high character of the players we recruited. We are looking for a special person, a special player to come in and fit our system, not only on the floor but off of the floor. When those types of young ladies give you their word and say they are coming to Middle Tennessee State, you feel pretty good about that because you know the fiber and background of these young ladies, but there are still some sleepless nights.

On Jadona Davis:
I think the ceiling on her is unbelievable. She is athletic, she can run, jump, she has great touch outside and inside. She is just so athletic and has a great personality. Jadona has a great work ethic. You see her stuff on her social media where she is in the gym working all the time. I just think she will come in and be an unbelievable athlete in our system. I think down the road she has the chance to go into the WNBA but that will be up to her. She is that type of young lady and the next four years will be fun for her.

On LaSonja Edwards:
LaSonja is a very articulate young lady, very athletic and she can play above the rim. She is a team player. The first time that I met her I was convinced that she needed to be part of the Lady Raider program. She was very concerned with what was going on academically and team-wise. She's about winning championships and that's what we are about. In talking to her I became excited. She can go get the ball. She finishes with the ball. (Gulf Coast State College) is ranked among the best junior college teams in the country and she is a big part of their team. She is going to bring to us what we need, and that is a team-first attitude.

On Anna Jones:
You don't score 30 (points) a game and not know how to play the game. (University School of Jackson Head Coach) Tony Shutes has been a friend of mine for a long time and he is one of the best coaches in the state of Tennessee, and he believes Anna is a tremendous player, as do we. Anna Jones is special. I saw her in the spring and during the early evaluation process in Louisville, and my only question was whether she was hard-nosed and tough enough to play big-time Division I basketball. I saw her do things where she was used out of position and undersized and never quit battling and battling. She made a believer out of me. I had to have her.

She's got great touch. She's 6-foot, 6-1, very intelligent, high basketball IQ, shoots the 3, and goes off the dribble. Not too many people have a 6-1 two-guard but she could play the 2 or 3 and I am not sure she couldn't play the point. We are very excited about what she brings into our program.

On Kara Meadows:
We saw Kara the summer before her junior year playing for TN Flight, which is the top travel team in the country. Kara dominated, just absolutely dominated the games. She was able to lead them to the (National Final 4) which means you are going against the top teams in the country in that travel team circuit and Kara Meadows held her own. She was unbelievable rebounding the basketball. Her touch was uncanny. I was just ecstatic with the summer she had.
Kara tore her ACL at the start of her junior year at Clarkrange. She has to get back from that and she is working hard. She is a more of a power player. She is a great passer with great vision, good touch and when you get her inside she is a legitimate 5 and that is what we recruited her for. She comes from a great family. In her case, I think our girls were the deciding factor. She just fit right in with our team. That's a big part of recruiting."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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