FGCU women’s basketball adds Junior College All-American

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Poised for another successful season on the hardwood, FGCU women’s basketball head coach Karl Smesko announced the addition of Sierra Harley to the program Tuesday afternoon. As a junior college transfer, Harley will join the program for the 2015-16 academic year and will be eligible to play immediately.

Harley (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric High School) joins the Green and Blue from Owens Community College where she led the Express to a record of 34-2 as a freshman. The 5-8 guard will enter the fall with three years of remaining eligibility.

“Sierra has been a major part of excellent teams both in high school and junior college,” explained Smesko of the addition. “She had a tremendous freshmen year at Owens last season. Sierra is a good scorer and passer. She also has the ability to defend with pressure. We are excited to have her in our program.”

While at Owens, Harley led the team in scoring with an average of 15.5 points per game and a success rate of 50.2 percent from the floor. Harley converted 3-point shots at a rate of 40.2 percent and hit 45 shots from long range in 34 games on the court.

Harley also posted an average of 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while grabbing 2.2 steals per contest and holding an assist to turnover ratio of 1.8. She recorded totals of 541 points, 197 rebounds, 182 assists and 78 steals en route to NJCAA and WBCA First Team All-American honors. In addition to the All-American nods, Harley picked up First Team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference honors and was the OCCAC Player of the Year. She also earned First Team NJCAA All-Region XII accolades and was the Region XII District I Player of the Year.

Under the instruction of Owens coach Michael Llanas, Harley recorded six double doubles and one triple double as a freshman. She scored 10 points or more on 31 occasions and scored at least 20 points in eight games to help the Express to a 32-game win streak and a third-place finish among all NJCAA DII teams nationally.

Prior to her time at Owens, Harley was the sixth player at Africentric High School, where three of her teammates earned Division I scholarships. She helped the team to Division III State Championships as a sophomore and as a senior, while the team was the state runner-up during her junior year.

Harley was a four-year member of the varsity team under coach Will McKinney. She is the daughter of LaTrisha Harley and has two siblings, Stanley and Stephan.

The Eagles will enter the 2015-16 season as the winners of five-straight Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships and as the defending champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. Led by the six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year, the 2014-15 team finished the historic season with an overall record of 31-3 and an Atlantic Sun record of 14-0. The program earned it’s first-ever Top-25 ranking as a Division I program and finished the season ranked 21st in the nation after defeating Oklahoma State 75-67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles return all but two players from last year’s squad and maintain a strong core of experienced upperclassmen.