Nov. 24, 2009
LAS VEGAS - Ta'Nitra Byrd, Rmanni Haynes and LaTia Morrison have signed national letters of intent to play for the UNLV women's basketball team starting in the fall of 2010-11, head coach Kathy Olivier announced on Tuesday.
Byrd, a 6-0 forward from Long Beach, Calif., is ranked as the No. 34 forward in the country by ESPN/Hoopgurlz, and she plays for Long Beach Poly High, where she was a teammate last year with current Lady Rebel star freshman Kelli Thompson. Those two were on the team that won the California high school state championship in 2009. Byrd spent her first two seasons of high school in Hawaii, playing for Radford High in Honolulu and was the Oahu Intercollegiate Association West Red Division Player of the Year as a freshman in 2006-07. She was nominated to the Hawaii All-Star team and was a second team All-OIA selection her sophomore season while helping Radford to a third-place finish in the state tournament.
"Ta'Nitra is a very aggressive power forward, she finishes hard at the basket, but also has the ability to play on the outside as well," said Olivier. "One of her biggest strengths is her competitive toughness, and she comes from a winning background, having played with Kelli on last year's state championship team in California."
Haynes, a 5-6 guard from Reseda, Calif., averaged 8.4 points, 2.6 assists and 3.0 steals last year while helping Taft High to the CIF finals. A three-time first team all-league selection, Haynes has earned All-CIF first team honors the past two years as well, and led the league in assists her sophomore season while leading Taft to the CIF semifinals. She also led the league in assists her freshman year while helping her squad to the Los Angeles CIF City Sectional championship.
"Rmanni is a very quick, explosive combo guard," said Olivier. "She has good shooting range from the outside, and is a very good defensive guard as well. Just as important is her competitiveness, as she will bring toughness to the position.
The Lady Rebels' final signee in the fall period is Morrison, a 6-2 forward/center from Phoenix, Ariz, who is in her second year at Pima Junior College. At Pima, Morrison earned 2009 All-ACCAC First Team honors and was selected to the All-Region 1 (Division 2) First Team after leading the team to a 24-5 record and a No. 3 national ranking. She finished the season leading the team in scoring with 16.5 ppg while posting 11.4 rpg, which topped the ACCAC, and she has been named a 2009-10 preseason All-American. Morrison played her high school career at Copper Canyon High in Phoenix.
"LaTia is a very strong and physical center who will play down low in the post for us," said Olivier. "She is a great rebounder and will be a physical presence for us in the paint."
