Upstate Adds Foster, Dickerson to 2014 Signing Class
6/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate head women's basketball coach Tammy George has announced the additions of Elesha Foster and Kristen Dickerson to the Spartans squad, and will begin play starting in 2014-15.
The duo becomes the third and fourth athletes to sign with Upstate, joining Vondria Ritter and A'Lexxus Davis. Ritter and Davis signed with the Spartans back in December during the fall signing period.
"We are excited to welcome both Kristen and Elesha to our basketball family," said George, who will be entering her 10th season at the helm of the Upstate program. "Both are, first and foremost, good kids and we look forward to watching their athletic growth during their time at Upstate."
Foster is a 5-11 forward from Cook High School in Adel, Georgia. She played for head coach Clemmie Foster, and averaged over 17 points and 10 rebounds in each of her last two seasons on the varsity team. Foster eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, as well as 500 rebounds, in just two seasons as she scored 510 points as a senior and 502 as a junior. She also grabbed 308 rebounds in 2013-14 and 349 during the 2012-13 season.
She earned First Team All-Region honors in each of the last two seasons while receiving Second Team All-State accolades as a senior as the team posted a 20-9 record on the court. Foster was also voted Class AA Honorable Mention All-State by the Georgia Sportswriters Association following her junior season. She also garnered First Team All-Tift Area and FCA Player of the Year recognition during her prep career.
"I am very excited about coming to USC Upstate," Foster said. "I am ready to work hard and be a difference on the team."
Dickerson is joining the Spartans after spending the last two seasons playing for head coach Penny Jones at Pensacola State College. She is a 5-7 guard from Oxford, Miss. and graduated from Oxford High School. During her two seasons at Pensacola State, Dickerson appeared in 41 games and averaged nearly seven points per game. She played in just 13 games as a freshman after suffering an injury, and posted a scoring average of 5.0 points per contest highlighted by a 13 point showing against Shelton State Community College. Dickerson then scored a career-high 25 points as a sophomore in a game versus Jones County Junior College. She would average 7.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 2013-14. Dickerson received Panhandle All-Conference accolades for academics and basketball.
She was a dual-sport athlete at Oxford High School earning letters in both basketball and track & field. Dickerson received the Oxford Eagle Award, which is given to outstanding athletes in the Oxford area, twice. She was a three-year starter and helped her team to a state championship as a senior en route to a 33-0 overall record, as well as a region championship during her junior season. On the track, Dickerson won three straight state championships while competing in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, 4x400-meter relay, long jump and triple jump.
"I picked USC Upstate because of my experience on my official visit," Dickerson said. "Out of all the schools I visited, this was the first to greet me with the entire coaching staff. They were genuine and took care of me as if I had been part of the team for years. My visit was full of laughs and jokes, the coaches showed they had a playful side, but at the same time were very serious about the business side of things – winning! After meeting the team and interacting with them, I knew this was where I belonged."
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