ST. AUGUSTINE - Flagler College head women's basketball coach Erika Lang-Montgomery announced the addition of five student-athletes for the 2018-19 season. The newcomers are: Jada Banks (Chicago, Ill./Monroe College), Ivana Boyd (Palatka, Fla./Santa Fe College), Dayuna Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/North Dakota State College of Science), Staci Miller (Orlando, Fla./Maynard Evans) and Chris Wilson (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis CC).

"We are excited about our incoming class," said Lang-Montgomery. "I feel we addressed the needs we had for the upcoming season. Each of these young women are high character people and will be great fits in our program."

Banks, a 5-foot-9 guard, transfers to Flagler from Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York. She played in 25 games last year and averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game to help lead the Mustangs to a 17-11 record. Banks knocked down 17 three-pointers and tallied 33 steals. As a freshman, she averaged 8.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game as Monroe posted a 21-7 record. Banks scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field in a NJCAA Division I Tournament game against South Plains College. She graduated from Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois.

"Jada is a strong and physical guard that can create her own offense and will help improve our rebounding from the perimeter," said Lang-Montgomery.

Boyd is a 5-foot-6 guard who followed the pipeline that runs to Flagler from Santa Fe College in Gainesville. She will join three former Saints on this year's roster. Boyd earned All-Mid-Florida Conference first team honors last year after averaging 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for Santa Fe. She helped lead the Saints to a conference title and a berth into the state tournament where she finished with a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) vs. Florida Southwestern. As a freshman, Boyd played at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She saw time as a reserve for the Cardinals who posted a 22-8 overall record and went to the Women's Basketball Invitational. Boyd prepped at Flagler Palm Coast High School where she was selected as the Daytona Beach News-Journal Player of the Year as a sophomore. She also led the Bulldogs to the state semifinals, as a junior, which was the first time in the program's history.   

"Ivana is another explosive guard and one of the best rebounding guards I have seen for her size," said Lang-Montgomery. "She gives relentless effort and is also a great on ball defender."

Johnson, a 5-foot-2 guard transfers to Flagler from a highly successful (59-8) North Dakota State College of Science program in Wahpeton. She helped lead the Wildcats to a pair of national tournament appearances and two Region XIII titles. The team was ranked No. 21 at the end of the season last year. As a sophomore, Johnson averaged 10.9 points and a team-best 3.7 assists per game. Her freshman year she averaged 9.5 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per game as the Wildcats went 30-4 and finished ranked No. 24. Johnson graduated from the Columbus (Ohio) Africentric Early College and she helped lead the Nubians to a pair of state titles. 

"She is a quick and explosive point guard that plays with a lot of energy and will be a great floor general for us," said Lang-Montgomery.

Miller, a 5-foot-7 guard, is the lone freshman in the class as she comes to Flagler via Maynard Evans High in Orlando. She was the Metro Conference Player of the Year as a senior and was a three-time all-conference west division selection. Miller scored over 1,000 points in her career.

"Staci is our lone freshman," said Lang-Montgomery. "She is an athletic shooting guard with a great work ethic. We are eager to watch her develop these next four years."

Wilson is a 5-foot-10 forward who spent the last two seasons at St. Louis (Mo.) Community College. She helped lead the Archers to a record of 51-13, which included a fifth place finish at the NJCAA Division II Tournament in 2017. Last year she averaged 14.9 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Her 53.8 field goal percentage led the team, as did her 25 blocked shots and 75 steals. As a freshman, Wilson averaged 17.1 points and a team-high 14.7 rebounds per game. She led the team in field goal percentage (54.3), steals (129) and blocked shots (13). Wilson graduated from the Gateway STEM High School in St. Louis.    

"She is a dynamic post player that will add to our post depth," said Lang-Montgomery. "Chris is a strong back to the basket player that can also face and drive. She is a strong offensive rebounder and that is an area where we need to improve."

The five newcomers will join eight returnees from last year's 18-9 club that turned in a 16-6 mark in the Peach Belt Conference.

Flagler will open the season at home on Nov. 9 with the Southeast Region Crossover Tournament. The Saints will take on Lincoln Memorial University at a time to be determined. Flagler takes on Florida State University, in an exhibition game, on Oct. 28 at Tallahassee.