April 15, 2020 - by Steve Stone

Women’s Basketball Adds Three Transfers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Florida State Women’s Basketball has added three quality student-athletes as transfers for the 2020-21 season. Joining the Seminoles are graduate point guard Tiana England (St. John’s), rising sophomore guard Sara Bejedi (Arizona State) and rising junior forward Erin Howard (Auburn).

“We are thrilled to welcome these three talented young women to our Seminole family,” FSU head coach Sue Semrau said. “Each brings skill, passion and energy at so many levels. We are a better basketball program as a result of these fine student-athletes choosing to finish their careers at Florida State.”

England was St. John’s starting point guard for each of the last three seasons, leading the Red Storm in assists in each of her playing years from 2017-20. In her redshirt junior year in 2019-20, she ranked third in the BIG EAST in assists with 162.

The native of Stamford, Conn., will be eligible immediately for the Seminoles. England’s transition to Florida State is an important one as FSU loses All-America point guard Nicki Ekhomu after the Bolingbrook, Ill., finished her four-year career.

England finishes her three playing seasons at St. John’s with 509 career assists, averaging an impressive 5.3 per game for her career. Her total assists number would rank second all-time already at FSU, with the school record being 602 by FSU legend Courtney Ward (2007-11). England’s assist totals would be even greater had the NCAA post-season not been canceled due to COVID-19.

As a sophomore, England was an All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection. In her St. John’s career, she averaged 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, shot 45.4 percent (119-of-262) and shot 31.4 percent from 3-point range (54-of-172). She played twice against FSU in 2018 and 2019, scoring 11 points with three assists this past season in a 74-70 win by FSU.

England’s experience could pay big dividends for the Seminoles. As a sophomore she led the BIG EAST in minutes per game with 36.9. She has played in 96 career games, starting 93 of them. One of her many career highlights was a 13-assist outing vs. Butler on Feb. 1, 2019.

This past year, England ranked in the Top 20 in total assists with 162, ranking 19th nationally. She was also the fastest St. John’s player to reach 500 career assists.

Howard is a fast-rising forward who made a noticeable leap following her sophomore year at Auburn. The Madison, Wis., native more than doubled her scoring average, scoring 7.6 points per game, pulling down 4.2 rebounds, shooting 39.2 percent (80-of-204) from the floor and drilling 34.4 percent (45-of-131) from downtown.

Howard led Auburn in 3-point shooting and blocked shots (21) last season. She recently dropped a career-best 22 points at Missouri on Feb. 27 and had seven games with double-digit point totals as a sophomore. Howard ended last season with an impressive four-game stretch where she averaged 14.8 points per game.

Prior to attending Auburn, Howard was pegged as the nation’s 21st-rated forward according to ESPN Hoopgurlz. She was named to the USA Today All-USA Wisconsin First Team.

Bejedi is a 5-foot-7 point guard who played one season for the Sun Devils. The Helsinki, Finland, native was able to experience high-level competition in the Pac-12, playing in 31 games in 2019-20 alongside several experienced guards at Arizona State.

Bejedi’s build-up prior to coming to the United States has been huge. She excelled in several FIBA competitions, including playing two years on the Finnish Senior National Team. In U18 play, she averaged 18.5 points and 5.0 assists to help her national squad win a Nordic championship.

She also averaged 17.0 points in an eight-game tournament where she earned EuroBasket.com All-European Championship second-team honors in the U18 division.

In her lone playing season with the Sun Devils, Bejedi scored a season-high 16 points vs. New Mexico. She debuted with 12 points vs. Air Force on Nov. 5, and finished fourth on the team with 17 3-point field goals.

Florida State loses the ACC’s top-scoring trio from last year in seniors Kiah Gillespie, Ekhomu and Nausia Woolfolk. With the additions of England, Bejedi and Howard, FSU’s roster is at 14 student-athletes.

Aside from bringing back nine letterwinners from last season, athletic guard Bianca Jackson will also have two years of eligibility after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules from South Carolina. Point guard Izabela Nicoletti also looks to return from back-to-back years with injury.

FSU’s current roster includes seven guards and seven forwards/centers.

Related Articles
April 8, 2020
One-on-One with Savannah Wilkinson
April 3, 2020
Semrau, Womens’ Hoops, Move Forward After Canceled Tournament
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
Copyright © 2023, Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. / Privacy Policy