Dec. 3, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's women's basketball announced that Allie Jones (Wakefield, R.I./ South Kingstown), Kasie Parker (Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell) and Erin Shields (Drexel Hill, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) have signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to attend Saint Joseph's University next year.

"All three of these players bring a high level of basketball talent to our program. We are expecting all three to have an immediate impact in our frontcourt and backcourt and we are excited about all three joining our Hawk family," said Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin. "Allie provides versatility and a great skill level to our post game. Erin is one of the best shooters I have seen on the recruiting circuit in a long time and Kasie is a talented wing player with incredible athleticism."

A 6-foot-3 forward/center, Jones has twice earned All-State honors averaging 11.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.1 assists as a junior at South Kingstown High School. A member of the Connecticut Storm AAU program, she enters her senior campaign 209 points shy of 1,000 for her career and needs only 131 rebounds to reach 1,000.

Guiding Lake Howell High School to the first Florida State Class 5A title in school history last season, Parker has been stellar in her senior year, averaging 24 points per game. Named a 2009 Florida High School Athletic Association All-State Finals Team selection after helping the Silver Hawks to the state championship, the 5-foot-9 guard averaged 13.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.1 assists per game as a junior. A standout in AAU competition as well, Parker was named AAU Disney Spring Fling II Tournament Most Valuable Player this past May.

Shields enters her final season at Archbishop Carroll after leading her team to the PIAA Class 4 State title as a junior. A Second Team All-State Class 4 selection, Shields averaged 9.8 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds per game as the Patriots finished with a 30-1 record. Shields has also proven to be an efficient shooter in her first three seasons with the Patriots, boasting a 42.1 career shooting percentage from behind the arc. The First Team All-Delco and All-Catholic League selection also has ties to Hawk Hill as she is the daughter of Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Famer Renie Shields (nee Dunne).