April 16, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio women's basketball head coach Sylvia Crawley has announced that Da'Keisha Mann of Columbus, Ohio has signed a national letter of intent and will enroll at Ohio beginning this fall.

Mann, a 5-10 guard, averaged 17.4 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal per game as a senior last year at Brookhaven High School. She was named first-team All-District and All-City, was an All-Ohio Special Mention and was named Brookhaven's Student-Athlete of the Year.

In the 17th Annual Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Basketball Game held last Saturday, Mann led the Ohio team to a 92-86 win over Kentucky and was named the Ohio MVP. She finished with game-highs of 17 points and nine rebounds. She also had five steals.

During her high school career, Mann helped lead the Bearcats to a city championship, a district championship and the 2008 Division I District Semifinals.

"She will definitely be an offensive threat," said Crawley. "She doesn't really do anything flashy or fancy, she can just flat out score. She is also use to playing pressure defense for an entire game, which is something that we would like to do more of."

"What excites me the most, is that Da'Keisha comes from a program that has made her mentally tough. She will fit right in with what we are trying to instill in our players."

Mann joins Ariana Bowles, Maxine Ohakim, Tracy Snider and Danielle Woodmore as the five members of Ohio's incoming class.

The Bobcats wrapped up the 2007-08 season with the most wins in 13 years, six new all-time program records, and a historic run in the MAC Tournament. The Bobcats racked up twenty wins, 112 blocks, 234 three pointers, 504 assists, 1,359 rebounds, 2,331 points, a 386 three-point field goal percentage, and a 68-66 double-overtime victory over defending MAC champ Bowling Green in the MAC semifinals. The 'Cats also played in the MAC championship game for the first time since 1986.