Women's Basketball Adds Four to Complete 2017-18 Roster

JACKSONVILLE, Fla- The women's basketball team is pleased to announce the addition of four student-athletes for 2017-18 with the signings of Ta'Kyla Austin, Arianna Emanuel-Wright, Keonna Farmer and TyQuandria Purifoy.

The quartet joins Elli Bartley, Savannah Slade and Tiffany Tolbert who all signed during the early period in November. The seven newcomers are joining seniors Simone Brown, Tesh Hanson and Maiya Rumph, junior Hadley Kiefer along with sophomores Adrienne Jackson and Kirsten Clement to complete the Ospreys roster.

Ta'Kyla Austin
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
High School: Northeast
Height: 5-7
Position: Guard
Club: FGB (Florida Girls Basketball)
Notes: Austin joins the Ospreys after averaging 19.6 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 steals for Northeast during her senior season, helping lead them to its second straight state tournament appearance. For her senior year, she was named to the Miami Herald All-Broward First team, while earning Sun Sentinel 7A-9A Basketball Team Honors. As a junior, Austin garnered Miami Herald Player of the Year and earned a nod to the all-county team. Prior to the start of her senior year, Austin also was named as a Sun Sentinel Fab 5.

Head coach Darrick Gibbs: "Ta'Kayla brings a level of toughness and competiveness that helped her lead her team to consecutive trips to the State Final Four. She is a tough-minded young lady who has shown the ability to make shots and score in bunches. She will help add depth and competition on the perimeter. She works extremely hard and takes a lot of pride in her development."

Arianna Emanuel-Wright
Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla.
High School: Paxon Advanced Studies
Height: 5-8
Position: Guard
Club: Jacksonville Predators
Former School: Santa Fe College
Notes: While at Santa Fe, Emanuel-Wright was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-American second team. In addition to her All-American recognition, she was named FCSAA All-State, FCSAA All Tournament, All Mid-Florida Conference, and was the Player of the Year in the MFC. The Jacksonville, Fla., native recorded 20.3 points per game in her sophomore season to finish ranked seventh in the nation in scoring. In addition to her scoring power, she also helped off the glass with 5.9 boards per contest, while picking up 52 steals. While at Paxon, Emanuel-Wright was named the 2015 Gateway Conference Player of the Year and earned All-First Coast honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Head coach Darrick Gibbs: "It is exciting to add another First Coast area prospect to our team. We have put a huge emphasis on prioritizing local talent and Arianna is a prime example of that. Ari has shown a tremendous amount of resilience and commitment to excellence in everything that she does. Her improvement during her two years at Santa Fe speak volumes about her work ethic and drive. She worked her way into becoming one of the top scorers in Junior College this past season. She has the ability to score on all three levels and her athleticism will allow her to have impact on the defensive end of the floor."

Keonna Farmer
Hometown: Birmingham, Ala.
High School: Center Point (formerly Erwin)
Height: 6-1
Position: Forward
Club: Alabama Roadrunners
Previous School: UAB
Notes: In her final season with the Blazers, Farmer averaged 8.2 points per game, while grabbing a team-best 7.1 boards per contest. She led the team off the glass in 20 contests including a career-high 17 at Samford. Farmer recorded double-figure points in 10 contests including a career-best tying 22 to close out the year in the CUSA tournament. In 2016-17, she had the ninth-best field goal percentage in the conference, while ranking eighth in boards. For her career with UAB, Farmer shot above 45 percent from the floor, aided by a 50.3 percent outing in her redshirt junior season.

Coming out of Center Point, Farmer was ranked as a four-star and the 29th best wing prospect by ESPN Hoopgurlz and ranked 98th in the country by Blue Star Basketball. She was given the House of Hoops by Foot Locker Nike Gamechanger Award for academics and community service. Farmer earned a spot on the AHSAA Junior North and South All-Star Team, All-State and All-Metro first team honors her sophomore and junior years, while also garnering Northeast Player of the Year her junior season by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. She helped Center Point win the 2011 5A State Championship which was the first ever for the Jefferson County School System.

Head Coach Darrick Gibbs: "Keonna is a graduate transfer who we expect to add experience and production. She is a highly motivated young lady who has had a very productive career so far and we are excited to have her join our family. Her athleticism and versatility will allow us to do a lot of different things on both ends of the floor. She has the ability to score inside and out and can defend any position on the floor. She has unbelievable leadership qualities and can have a huge impact on our success this season."

TyQuandria Purifoy
Hometown: Pensacola, Fla.
High School: Pine Forest
Height: 5-1
Position: Guard
Club: FGB (Florida Girls Basketball)
Previous School: Gulf Coast State College
Notes: Purifoy helped Gulf Coast to two straight NJCAA national championships. She started 36 games, shooting 43.6 percent from the field, while also pulling down 2.2 rebounds per game. She ranked 10^th in the NJCAA with 168 assists with just 95 turnovers, while picking up 113 steals. During her sophomore season, she had a career game with 22 points against Northwest Florida State. Purifoy also earned a spot on the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) all-academic team for the 2015-16 season. While at Pine Forest, Purifoy was named Defensive Player of the Year her final two seasons.

Head Coach Darrick Gibbs: "Ty'Quandria is as competitive as they come. She is a young lady that has lead her teams to three straight championships, including back-to-back Junior College National titles. Her drive and work ethic is a big reason for her success and we are excited to add what she brings to this team. Her experience and composure will definitely be a big key for us moving forward."

Players Mentioned

Simone Brown

Kirsten Clement

Tesh Hanson

Adrienne Jackson

Hadley Kiefer

Maiya Rumph

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