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The Maryland women's basketball team added a new player to its arsenal in 5'10" wing Ieshia Small who will transfer to the Terps from Baylor. Small, was granted her release by the Bears and announced her decision via Twitter (@ieshaismall24) Saturday.
Small, who played for Florida High School in Miami, was the 2013 Gatorade Player of the Year in Florida and was the 19th ranked player in the class according to ESPN's HoopGurlz.com. Although she was selected as the preseason Freshman of the Year in the Big 12, it appears that Small never got comfortable in Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey's system.
She played in all 37 games with two starts as a freshman playing about 11.5 minutes per contest and averaging three points per game. She averaged a similar number of minutes in her sophomore season but played in only 28 games as Baylor saw its season end in a second consecutive Elite Eight loss to Notre Dame. Although her scoring dropped by about a half point per game, she did average nearly 2 assists in her limited minutes.
Though not a pure point guard in high school, Small displayed the ability to handle the ball and run the point when asked to do so. According to the ESPN scouting report Small was a high level guard who "keeps finding ways to continue advancing her game." The report added,
"Almost every aspect of her play seems to become more refined and effective each time we see her in action. Combining speed and acceleration with sharp, attacking ballhandling gets her deep in the paint time and again. Once in traffic, she's delivering the ball with more authority and making better decisions leading to more consistent results. In transition, her vision is allowing her to see the floor and there's lots of zip on every pass."
Small is expected on campus for the second summer session and should be able to begin working out and practicing with her new teammates at that time. Per NCAA transfer rules she will have to sit out a year and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.