Wildcats add Houston-area standout

McLeod was No. 3 scorer in Houston, averaging more than 20.0 ppg

ABILENE -- ACU women's basketball coach Shawna Lavender announced Monday that she has signed prep standout Rebekah McLeod to a national letter-of-intent for the 2005-06 basketball season.

McLeod, a 5-11 guard at St. Thomas Episcopal High School 9in Houston, joins Abilene High signee Audrey Maxwell and transfers Kristee Davidson (UC-Irvine) and Lacey Blau (Texas-San Antonio) as the three newest Wildcats for next year's squad, which will return three starters and eight letterwinners from a team that finished 20-10 in 2004-05 and reached the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament for the first time since 1998-99.

McLeod -- who played for former ACU all-America center Jackie Bucher-Washington and her husband, George, at St. Thomas -- will play guard at ACU.  Last year as a senior she averaged 21.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game, leading her team to a 27-5 record.  She was named TAPPS first team all-state, district MVP and first team all-district, and she was third in the Houston area in scoring.

She led her team to an undefeated district season and an appearance in the Class 4A state tournament where she was named to the all-tournament team.  She scored 637 points and grabbed 302 rebounds as a senior.  As a junior she was honorable mention all-state, district MVP and first team all-district.

Also recruited by Stony Brook, Eastern Kentucky, UT-Arlington, Bucknell and Sam Houston State, McLeod's grandfather, George McLeod, was an all-America basketball player at TCU who was later drafted into the NBA by the Milwaukee Bucks.