UK women sign two D.C. standouts

Special to the Herald-Leader

The Kentucky women's basketball team signed two more players to national letters of intent, Coach Matthew Mitchell announced Monday.

Jeniece Johnson, a 6-foot-6 center from Washington D.C.'s Howard D. Woodson High School and teammate Bernisha Pinkett, a 5-7 guard, were added to the UK roster for next season.

"It's always exciting to sign players of this caliber in the late signing period," Mitchell said. "They were two of the best unsigned seniors in the class, and they both fill needs we had on our basketball team."

Johnson is ranked as the No. 46 overall prospect and the 14th-best post player according to ESPN HoopGurlz. During her prep career, she helped Woodson win three D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association championships and back-to-back city title games.

Pinkett, a four-year starter for Coach Frank Oliver, was named MVP of the DCIAA last season. As a senior, she averaged 24.1 points a game.

The duo joins four signees from the fall singing period in Anna Cole, a 6-6 center from Mondovi, Wis., Brittany Henderson, a 6-2 forward from Altadena, Calif., Adia Mathies, a 5-9 guard from Iroquois High School in Louisville, and Porsha Postell, a 5-10 guard from White Plains, N.Y.

Also eligible to play next season are three Division I transfers in Rebecca Gray (North Carolina) a 5-10 guard from Scott County, Crystal Riley (Louisiana State) a 5-5 point guard from Arlington, Tenn., and Keyla Snowden (Akron) a 5-7 guard from Lexington Catholic.