COACH CRAIGHEAD ADDS TWO MORE TO 2010-11 RECRUITING CLASS
5/11/2010
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State head women's basketball coach Jamie Craighead has announced the addition of high school senior Shanti Smith (Denver, Colo.) and junior college transfer Prayer Branham (Laveen, Ariz.) to the teams 2010-11 recruiting class.
Smith comes to Sacramento State from Highlands Ranch HS in Highlands Ranch, Colo., where she was a second team all-Continental Conference selection as a senior. The No. 85 ranked small forward in the nation according to ESPN Hoopgurlz, the 6-foot-0 Smith led her team to the finals of the Mike Desper Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions in December of 2009. In the title game against Oregon City HS, Smith led all scorers with 20 points. She scored a season-high 21 points against Ponderosa HS on Jan. 22, and eventually led her team to their third straight league title while being named the Falcons' most improved player.
"Shanti is a big kid but she runs up and down the floor with long strides, almost effortlessly," Craighead said. "She's a good athlete who has nice hands and solid post moves. She played in a strong, winning high school program and she brings that mentality with her. She wants to compete and will be someone who can come in right away and fight for minutes."
Branham joins the Hornets after a two-year stint at Mesa Community College in Arizona where she led her team to the National Junior College Athletic Association Region I Division II championship game as a sophomore. In that contest against Pima CC, the point guard scored 31 of her teams 60 points, knocking down 10-of-18 shots from the field, 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc and 6-of-8 from the foul line. The 5-foot-6 Branham averaged 11.0 points per game, but increased that average to 23.5 ppg during the Region I playoffs. Branham graduated from South Mountain HS in Phoenix, Ariz., in 2008, where she was an honorable mention all-state honoree by the Arizona Republic after averaging 10.1 points and 3.2 assists per game as a senior. She led the Jaguars to four region titles and the 2008 state championship, where she scored 16 points to pace the team.
"Prayer is really just now coming into her game," Craighead said. "Things started really coming together for her during the last half of her sophomore year, and she should be able to come in and help us out at point guard. She's quick, she can handle the ball well, shoot and get to the basket. Prayer is an all-around threat in the backcourt for us who will also bring some experience with her to our team."
The duo of Branham and Smith join four other student-athletes who have signed letters of intent to compete for the Hornets during the 2010-11 school year. Guards Sadie Clements (Springville HS, Springville, Utah), Alle Moreno (St. Mary’s HS, Lodi, Calif.), and Se’nyce Parrish (Clovis West HS, Clovis, Calif.) as well as post player Cydnie Mixon (Deer Valley HS, Antioch, Calif.) who were signed last November by Craighead.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State head women's basketball coach 
