ECU Athletic Media Relations

GREENVILLE — East Carolina University women’s basketball head coach Heather Macy announced the additions of Felecity Havens, Jasmine Phillips and Derreyal Youngblood to the program on Tuesday.

Phillips will be eligible immediately and has two years remaining, while Havens and Youngblood must spend one year in academic residency at ECU according to NCAA transfer rules and can begin competition beginning with the 2015-16 campaign.

Havens lettered four years and was a team captain each season under coach Adrienne Gale at Eugene Ashley High School in Wilmington. A two-time StarNews All-Area Player-of-the-Year during her junior and senior years, she averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game as a senior, Havens was also named the Mideastern Conference Player-of-the-Year recognition following her junior year where she averaged 17.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while leading the Eagles to the third round of the 4A state playoffs. Her performance helped her squad to conference championships during three of her four years and earned her all-conference team recognition each season. Additionally, Havens was a standout middle hitter on the volleyball team while setting the school record for points in a season with 476 and also lettered four years in women’s lacrosse as a midfielder. She initially committed to play at Troy University before transferring to ECU.

“Felecity comes from a winning basketball tradition and possesses a good mix of length, athleticism and a high basketball IQ,” Macy said. “It will be a pleasure to have her as a member of our program and I’m looking forward to watching her growth and development.”

A guard, Phillips arrives at East Carolina after spending her freshman year at Louisburg College and sophomore season at the University of Tennessee, before spending a year away from competition. In addition to appearing in 12 games, she became just the fourth junior college player since 1977 to sign with Tennessee and was Lady Vols’ head coach Holly Warlick’s first signee after she took over for legendary coach Pat Summitt. At Louisburg, the Hartsville, S.C., native earned NJCAA All-America First Team honors while averaging 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game and helping the Hurricanes to a 31-2 overall record and third place finish in the NJCAA Division II tournament.

Phillips attended Hartsville High School and was named the Class 3-A South Carolina Player-of-the-Year and the Florence Morning News Player-of-the-Year in 2011. She averaged 21.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.3 steals, 3.1 assists and three blocks a game as a senior, helping the Red Foxes to the Class 3A lower state championship with a 31-2 record. Phillips once scored 50 points and had 27 rebounds in a single game during her sophomore year.

“Jasmine is a unique combination of size and athleticism,” Macy said. “She has the ability to defend multiple positions and can get to the rim against anyone in the country. She will make an immediate impact on both ends of the floor and give us needed depth as we begin play in the American Conference.”

A 6’4 center LSU, Youngblood averaged 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game during her two seasons with the Tigers, while averaging 8.5 minutes per game. Last season, she appeared in 21 games, scoring a season-high 10 points against Indiana State and pulling down five rebounds versus Florida. Youngblood earned playing time in 32 contests off the bench as a freshman in 2012-13 and logged a career-high 22 minutes with four points and seven rebounds in a 71-66 upset victory over eighth-ranked Penn State, advancing LSU to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

As a prep player, Youngblood attended John Curtis High School where she led the Patriots to the 2012 Class 2A state championship and was named Most Valuable Player. In the state championship game, she had 10 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks and closed her senior campaign with 15.5 points per game. A three-time Class 2A selection and three-time district MVP, the New Orleans native posted 16.6 points per game as a sophomore and 13.3 points as a junior. She started as a freshman and helped John Curtis to the 2009 state title.

“Derreyal is the definition of a program changer,” Macy said. “She is a true power player who has the potential to be one of the best posts in the country.  She will allow us to have a physical presence to anchor our offense and defense.”

Havens, Phillips and Youngblood join a group of newcomers that already includes Gabrielle Houston (Georgia Tech), Marina Laramie (Indiana State), Khadidja Toure (Oregon State), Khadijah Ellison (Chipola College), DeVaughn Gray (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M), Chelsie Keys (Coffeyville Community College) and I’Tiana Taylor (Weatherford College).