University of Georgia Athletics
Krista Donald Inks LOI With Georgia
November 12, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. --- Krista Donald, a 5-11 guard from Lake High School in Lake (Miss.) signed a letter-of-intent with the University of Georgia on Thursday, the second day of the NCAA's early signing period.
Donald is a two-time member of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen of the top players in Mississippi for all classification sizes. She is ranked as the nation's No. 55 overall recruit and the No. 12 wing by the Girls Basketball Report.
"Krista is a power guard," head coach Andy Landers said. "She has great strength coupled with a guard's skill set. Krista can score it from the perimeter, slash you to the basket or post you up - truly an unusual package for a guard."
Last season, Donald averaged 19.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. She was named the Southeast Region Player of the Week by ESPN Rise Magazine on Feb. 17 after scoring a career-high 37 points against Newton.
"Any player of Krista's level has God-given talent, but what takes her above others and has made her the best player in the state is her tremendous work ethic," Lake head coach Victor Gilstrap said. "She's put in the time to develop her skills, not only the talents she's been blessed with but the cerebral parts of the game. She's also a very unselfish player. Krista is not only the most outstanding player I've had in my 10 years of coaching, she's also the most unselfish."
Donald is Georgia's second signee of the early period. On Wednesday, Erika Ford, a 5-9 guard from Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, Ga., signed with the Lady Bulldogs.
"Together, Erika and Krista move us in the direction of our objective to create a deeper backcourt so that we can continue changing our style of play, utilizing more players and implementing more full-court strategies," Landers said.
Georgia has long been one of the nation's premier women's basketball programs. The Lady Bulldogs rank No. 2 nationally in both weeks ranked by the Associated Press and NCAA Tournament appearances.
The 2010-11 edition of the Lady Bulldogs has been ranked No. 19 in pre-season Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. Georgia opens the season this Sunday by hosting Georgia Southern at historic Stegeman Coliseum at 2 p.m.
