April 17, 2009
Arizona State University head women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne today announced that Sabrina McKinney and Tenaya Watson have signed national letters of intent to study and play basketball at Arizona State. Both players will be joining the Sun Devils for the 2009-10 season.
McKinney will be coming to ASU from Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, where she established herself as one of the state's top all-around talents on both ends of the floor. A two-time District 4-5A Defensive Player of the Year, McKinney finished her career No. 2 all-time in Bowie annals in both assists (455) and steals (289) and No. 7 in scoring (823 points). In addition, she is also the school's single-season record holder in assists (185). As a senior, McKinney was named to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's All-Area Super Team as she helped her squad make it to the regional semifinals and a final No. 10 (TGCA) state ranking. A four-year starter, McKinney led her team in both assists and steals three straight seasons. During her career she was named to the Dr. Pepper Chisholm Trail All-Tournament Team, the Arlington Classic Girls Classic All-Tournament Team and the Mansfield Invitational All-Tournament Team.
"Sabrina McKinney is a tough and very skilled point guard who has led her team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor," said Turner Thorne. "While she is an adept scorer and stand-out defender, I am especially impressed with her precision passing. Sabrina has had great coaching at both Bowie High School and with her Dallas-Fort Worth club program (DFW Elite). I could not be more excited to coach this talented young lady."
A 5-9 guard from Long Beach, Calif., Watson will be joining the Sun Devils from Central Arizona College where she recently played a major role in leading her team to a perfect 35-0 season and the NJCAA championship. Along the way she put up All-American numbers as she averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 assists (13th in the nation) and 3.9 steals (fourth in the nation) per game. She also finished the season ranked ninth in the nation in field goal percentage (.607). Watson was named the MVP of the NJCAA Tournament after averaging 16.8 points in the Vaqueras' four tournament games. In the NJCAA championship game she scored a career-best 30 points and grabbed six rebounds to help Central Arizona defeat Missouri Jefferson College 78-71. In 2008 Watson was named a NJCAA Division I First Team All-American following a freshman campaign in which she averaged 16.6 points and finished first in the nation in field goal percentage (.646), second in assists (8.4 apg) and 11th in steals (3.8 spg).
"Tenaya Watson will be a major impact player for us," said Turner Thorne. "She was arguably the best junior college guard in the country at the end of the 2008-09 season. She can play all three guard positions and is a strong, savvy, hardworking player. Tenaya has truly developed under the Central Arizona coaching staff. She is both a scorer and distributor as well as a tenacious defender and dominant rebounder. We are absolutely thrilled to have her as part of our Sun Devil Family. Tenaya's smile and her game are going to light up Wells Fargo Arena for the next two years."
McKinney and Watson will be joining a Sun Devil squad that is coming off its second Elite Eight appearance in the last three seasons and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament five years in a row. Watson will be joined by her Central Arizona teammate Markisha Patterson, who signed a national letter of intent with the Sun Devils last November.