April 17, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Fresh off a championship 2002-03 season, Western Kentucky University women's basketball coach Mary Taylor Cowles announced today that she has signed two players to start the late signing period. Charlotte Marshall and Shardae Butler both signed an National Letter of Intent to play for the Lady Toppers, and will join early signees Natalia Benton, Amber Holt and Cacie Pope in the Lady Toppers' 2003-04 freshman class. Cowles hopes to add two or three more players to that list before the signing period closes on May 15.
"We need to look to fill spots at every position on the basketball floor," said Cowles, the 2003 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. "We are not at all in a position to panic with just six players returning next season. We plan to go out and find exceptional talent and exceptional young ladies that can contribute to our basketball team on the court, in the classroom and in the community."
Marshall will join the Lady Toppers following her third appearance in the Kentucky Girls' Sweet Sixteen last month. She helped lead Shelby County High School to a 29-4 mark this past season and a second straight Eighth Region title. A 5-10 guard/forward, Marshall averaged 17.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, four assists and three steals per game for coach Sally Zimmerman's Lady Rockets. Those efforts earned her second-team all-state honors this past week.
"We are very fortunate to get Charlotte in the late signing period," said Cowles. "Her physical strength and her shooting ability will be big keys for us both on the perimeter and inside. She has been very well coached and has a true passion to play Division I college basketball. If she is able to do what is necessary in the weight room this summer, I see her contributing as a freshman because of an unbelievable work ethic."
Butler will make here way to the Hill from East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Ill. where she averaged 15.2 points per game during her senior season. She has also spent the last seven years playing with coach Tim Hill's St. Louis Crusader AAU squad, where she averaged 13 points, eight assists and four steals per contest. Listed a 5-3, Butler "uses her size well" according to Hill, and has registered a near 30-inch vertical leap.
"Shardae's extreme athletic ability and quickness will be an asset to us at the point guard position," added Cowles. "I see her biggest contribution early coming at the defensive end because of that athleticism. She has played against very good competition in AAU basketball, and with time I'm confident she will adapt to this level of basketball."
The Lady Toppers are coming off an impressive 2002-03 campaign. After starting the season 5-7, Western regrouped to win 17 of its next 18 games (including 14 straight) to win both the Sun Belt East Division championship and SBC Tournament title. WKU then made its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Rutgers in a first-round matchup in Athens, Ga.
- WKU -
