A Big Week For The CSU Women’s Basketball Team
By CSU Sports Information
COLUMBUS – It’s been a big week for the Columbus State University women's basketball program, as head Coach Matt Houser announced the signing of 3 new players.
ZeNya Butler who is transferring from Division I Sam Houston State, will be immediately eligible for the 2019-20 season.
Aujana Dawkins signed a scholarship to join the Lady Cougars for the 2019-20 season. Dawkins, a 6-1 forward, last played at Division II Arkansas Tech of the Great American Conference. She will have two seasons of eligibility for CSU.
Valeria Merlos, a native of Barcelona, Spain, who played the 2018-19 season at NAIA Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla., will have one season of eligibility at CSU.
"ZeNya is a big-time scoring guard and will be able to keep up with anyone in this league," said Houser. "She is insanely strong for her size and loves to play in space."
Prior to arriving at Sam Houston State last season, Butler played for Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Va. In the 2017-18 season, Butler paced Patrick Henry in points (16.6) and assists per game (4.1) while shooting a team-best 35.4 percent on 3-point attempts. She was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-Region X team for her efforts.
A Richmond, Va. native, Butler played her prep ball at John Marshall High School leading the school to back-to-back conference championships in her junior and senior seasons. In her final year at John Marshall, she earned All-Region, All-Conference and All-Metro (Richmond area) honors as she averaged over 17 points and four assists per game.
"ZeNya has all the talent in the world and reminds me of WNBA player Brittany Boyd. With her ability to shoot deep, she gives us plenty of options to stretch the court." Butler will have one year of eligibility with the Lady Cougars.
"Aujana is going to be an amazing addition to this team," said Houser. "She knows how to play at a championship level, and brings some experience to the roster."
In her one season at Arkansas Tech, Dawkins was a key factor in leading the team to a 27-4 record and the GAC Tournament championship. She started all, but one game averaging nine points and 6.4 rebounds. Over the course of 31 games, she shot 54.2 percent and was second on the team in blocks.
Dawkins also has the clutch gene as she hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer to keep Arkansas Tech alive in the GAC Tournament.
Dawkins will be returning to Georgia after playing her freshman season at Georgia Highlands College. There, she averaged a double-double with 13.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game going on to earn the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year honors.
"Aujana just knows how to attack the basket and rebounds with the best of them. She is a hustle player, who brings the energy, and wants to win above all else."
Dawkins played high school ball at Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga. She earned All-State honors after posting over 700 points and rebounds in her career.
"Valeria shoots the lights out from deep," commented Houser. "She has a very high basketball IQ and is going to be exciting to watch every night."
Last year at Warner, Merlos had a season for the record books making 73 3-pointers in 30 games, just two shy of the school record for both the men's and women's programs. The guard shot above 30 percent from downtown while averaging 10.4 points per game.
Before Warner, Merlos played two seasons at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She helped Broward to the Florida College System Activities Association state tournament in both seasons and was also honored on the 2016-17 FCSAA All-Academic team.
A native of Barcelona, Spain, Merlos played for Femení Sant Adrià putting up impressive numbers. Merlos helped her U16 and U18 captured the Catalonian Championship as well as impressive showings at the Spanish Championship.
"It's exciting to have someone with some international experience on the squad," added Houser. "Spain is always known for producing quality basketball players and Valeria is no different."