Nov. 18, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Shalonda Winton, one of the top players in the State of Pennsylvania, has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Cleveland State beginning with the 2009-10 academic year.

Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad made the announcement on Tuesday (Nov. 18) afternoon.

"We were looking for something specific in this recruiting class and the first time I saw Shay-Shay play, I knew she was the kid that we were looking for," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "She is very long and athletic and her work ethic and desire to be the best will fit well with the mentality that we have established at Cleveland State.

"She plays as hard from possession to possession as any high school player that I have seen. Shay-Shay has a tremendous amount of athleticism, a scorer's mentality from anywhere on the floor and passes as well as any inside player."

A 5-foot-11 wing/forward, Winton averaged 16.0 points per game as a junior leading Westinghouse H.S. to the Pittsburgh City League Championship and a 23-5 overall record.

Winton was named to the all-city first team, as well as the Pittsburgh Post Gazette first team.

In the latest rankings of the All Star Girls Report, Winton was the 332nd ranked senior in the country, making her the second highest ranked player to sign with a Horizon League school to date.

CSU will be back in action on Tuesday (Nov. 18) when the Vikings open their home season with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Eastern Michigan in the Wolstein Center.