Sea Devil Nikia Wallace Inks DII Scholarship with Gannon University
WILMINGTON, NC - Sea Devil Women's Baskebtall sophomore guard Nikia Wallace has inked a Division II scholarship to continue her playing career with Gannon University under head coach Jim Brunelli.
"My assistant coach Amanda Parris heard about her and started the recruiting process on film. We both loved what we saw and she had great poise, ball handling, and shooting touch. She can score in a variety of ways and can play multiple positions (PG,2,3). She is also a solid defender and will fit well into my system," said Jim Brunelli, Head Coach of the Gannon University Women's Basketball program.
Wallace joins fellow teammates Destiny Campbell (Signed NLI with East Carolina University) and TaKwana Bland (Signed NLI with Clayton State University) who are moving on after CFCC.
"I look for Nikia to bring experience and an immediate impact to our team. She has a lot of experience that our young team will need. She, I feel is the total package as a student-athlete who will work hard in the classroom and on the court," Brunelli added.
Wallace will play for fifth year head coach Jim Brunelli, who entered this past season as the 47th winningest active coach in NCAA Division II; Brunelli is also the school's leader in career wins achieiving the mark only in his first three seasons at the helm.
"I'm very excited for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my life," said Nikia Wallace in her opening comments from signing day on the news on committing to play for the Golden Knight's women's basketball program.
Brunelli also strives for his women's basketball players to succeed off the court in the academic aspect; in fact, current and former Golden Knights women's basketball players have been named PSAC Scholar-Athletes a total of 32 times during his tenure (not including this season), and the program has also earned ADA (Athletics Directors Association) Academic Achievement Award a total of 20 times (not including this season) under Brunelli's direction.
"Gannon is really a medical based school which I thought was perfect for me with the career path I have choosen. They are really big on academics which is something that has always been important to me as well, which was also another reason I thought they were the right fit," Wallace added when asked about Brunelli's program and the Golden Knight's women's basketball program academic achievements.
The Golden Knights finished this past season with a (9-19) including a (9-13) mark in their conference play; Gannon averaged 60.1ppg and connecting on (159-484) three pointers this season. They were led by junior guard Maggie Mitchell, the team's leading scorer at 17.3 points per contest as well as redshirt senior forward Lanise Saunders's 10.4ppg as the team's second leading scorer.
"I am very proud of Nikia for her accomplishments through out her sophomore season. Nikia put together a full package for us going into the second half of the season as our point guard and it gave her this opporutnity to earn a full ride at Gannon University," said Sea Devil Women's Basketball Head Coach Lori Drake.
"I cannot wait to see what her next level career holds for her and I'm even more excited to make a trip to PA next season," Drake added.
Wallace finished this past season appearing in 28 games while averaging 9.1ppg, 4.8apg, and 3.9rpg while shooting 33.7% from the floor and 61.4% from the free throw line.
Courtesy of Trent Brinkley