Nov. 21, 2008

LAS VEGAS - Kelli Thompson has signed a national letter of intent to play for the UNLV women's basketball team starting in the fall of 2009-10, head coach Kathy Olivier announced on Friday.

She becomes the third player to sign with the Lady Rebels this week, as UNLV announced on Tuesday the signing of forward Amanda Anderson (The Woodlands, Texas) and point guard Mia Bell (Las Vegas, Nev.). The three-player recruiting class is ranked 56th in the nation by ESPN/Hoopgurlz, and is the second-highest rated class in the Mountain West Conference.

Thompson, a 6-0 guard from Long Beach, Calif., is ranked as the No. 19 wing player in the country by ESPN/Hoopgurlz, and gives UNLV two of the top 30 in this year's class (Anderson is ranked No. 30). She is also ranked 95th by All-Star Girls Report. She earned first team All-Moore League honors last year for Long Beach Poly High, three-time defending state champions and currently ranked fifth in the nation.

"Kelli come from a very successful high school program, and knows what it's like to play at a high level," said Olivier. "She does a lot of everything on the court, she's a good shooter, great defender, and is very athletic, we expect her to help us out a lot next season."