Three ICC women's basketball players moving to the next level
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS – Head coach Nanci Gray announced Aaliyaha Thornton, Asia Partlow and Marlee Hatcher will be continuing their careers as student-athletes next season.
Thornton (Hernando) signed with Belhaven University.
VIDEO: Thornton talks about signing with Belhaven
The five-foot-three starting point guard averaged 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists in her final season with the Lady Indians. As a freshman, she averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in a back-up role.
Belhaven is a NCAA Division III program and is a member of the American Southwest Conference.
Partlow (Tupelo) signed with the Bleu Devils of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
VIDEO: Partlow talks about signing with Dillard University
The six-foot forward earned a spot on the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-Star team after averaging 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. She shot 49.7 percent from the floor and 71.2 percent from the free throw line. In her first season in Fulton, she averaged 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds a night.
Dillard, a NAIA program, went 19-9 last season and advanced to the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference semifinals.
Hatcher (Pontotoc) will be a member of the Ole Miss women's basketball team next season.
VIDEO: Hatcher talks about joining the Ole Miss women's basketball program
As a sophomore, the five-foot-seven shooting guard earned MACJC All-State and All-Star honors after averaging 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assist per game. She was named MACJC Player of the Week for her performances against Holmes Community College and Wallace State (AL) Community College, where she went 9-for-9 from three and 10-of-13 from the floor.
She finished the season as one of the country's Top 20 shooters from behind the arch, hitting at 41 percent on the year.
As a freshman, Hatcher averaged 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 23 Tournament team as a freshman.
The trio helped lead the Lady Indians to its second-straight NJCAA Region 23 Championship and its third NJCAA Division I Women's National Tournament in four years as freshmen. They also won back-to-back MACJC North Division titles.
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