Troy University Athletics
Women's Basketball Adds Two For 2021-22
4/16/2021 10:25:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. – Troy women's basketball head coach Chanda Rigby announced the signings of Za'Nautica Downs and Amber Leggett to National Letters of Intent on Friday. Downs and Leggett join the 2021-22 signing class that includes Kansas transfer, Tina Stephens and incoming freshman, Gabbi Cartagena. All four will join the Trojans for the 2021-22 season.
Za'Nautica Downs | 5-9 | Guard | Moultrie, Ga. | UNC-Wilmington | Florida Southwestern College
Get To Know Za'Nautica Downs
Downs, who was a teammate of recent signee Tina Stephens at Florida Southwestern, comes to Troy after a successful season at UNC-Wilmington where she was named the Sixth Women of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association while also earning Third Team All-CAA recognition. During her junior season with the Seahawks, Downs finished second on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) while also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. She posted a career-high 32-points in UNCW's win over South Carolina State (Dec. 7) and reached double-figures in 12 games. Prior to her time at UNCW, Downs was a star at Florida Southwestern College where she was a finalist for the World Exposure NJCAA National Player of the Year and ranked at the No. 13 overall junior college player. As a sophomore at FSW, Downs led her team to a 24-7 record and a top-15 national ranking. She averaged 18.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals per contest while shooting 37 percent from three and 84 percent from the free throw line. That same season she was named the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year, FCSAA All-State and a First Team All-Suncoast Conference honoree. As a freshman in 2018-19, Downs averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.8 steals.
Rigby On Downs
"Za'Nautica is a passionate, energetic player whose high motor will push our up-tempo play to new heights. She plays fast, scores quickly and plays defense with urgency to regain possession of the basketball. She is an instant boost to our entire Troy system of play."
Amber Leggett | 5-11 | Forward | Navarre, Fla. | Sam Houston State | Choctawhatchee HS
Get To Know Amber Leggett
Leggett, a highly decorated student-athlete while at Sam Houston State, had an incredible junior season with the Bearkats where she was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Southland Conference honors and was named to the Southland All-Tournament team. During the 2020-21 season, Leggett averaged a SLC best, 20.0 points per game which set a single-season program record for scoring average. In a 31-point performance on Jan. 20 she became just the 18th Bearkat to score 1,000 career points. During her sophomore campaign in 2019-20, Leggett earned First Team All-Southland Conference honors as well as All-Defensive Team honors. That season she was the only Southland player to average 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Leggett improved statistically in each of her three seasons at Sam Houston State. She increased her scoring average each season (12.4, 15.6 and 20.0) and her rebounding average (4.7, 5.4 and 7.0). In her Bearkat career she played in 81 games making 23 starts while averaging 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.6 assists while shooting 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind-the-arc.
Rigby On Leggett
"We are thrilled to welcome Amber to our Trojan family. Putting up big numbers in both points and rebounds is what she does night in and night out. What a perfect addition to our roster."
Troy is coming off its third Sun Belt Tournament Championship, fourth overall Sun Belt Title, and its third NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Chanda Rigby. Troy made national headlines in the NCAA Tournament against No. 2 seed Texas A&M when they erased a 16-point deficit to lead the Aggies late in the fourth quarter before narrowly falling to the Aggies by just four points. Troy's 80-points scored was the third-most points scored by a 15 seed in NCAA tournament history.
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Za'Nautica Downs | 5-9 | Guard | Moultrie, Ga. | UNC-Wilmington | Florida Southwestern College
Get To Know Za'Nautica Downs
Downs, who was a teammate of recent signee Tina Stephens at Florida Southwestern, comes to Troy after a successful season at UNC-Wilmington where she was named the Sixth Women of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association while also earning Third Team All-CAA recognition. During her junior season with the Seahawks, Downs finished second on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) while also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. She posted a career-high 32-points in UNCW's win over South Carolina State (Dec. 7) and reached double-figures in 12 games. Prior to her time at UNCW, Downs was a star at Florida Southwestern College where she was a finalist for the World Exposure NJCAA National Player of the Year and ranked at the No. 13 overall junior college player. As a sophomore at FSW, Downs led her team to a 24-7 record and a top-15 national ranking. She averaged 18.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals per contest while shooting 37 percent from three and 84 percent from the free throw line. That same season she was named the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year, FCSAA All-State and a First Team All-Suncoast Conference honoree. As a freshman in 2018-19, Downs averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.8 steals.
Rigby On Downs
"Za'Nautica is a passionate, energetic player whose high motor will push our up-tempo play to new heights. She plays fast, scores quickly and plays defense with urgency to regain possession of the basketball. She is an instant boost to our entire Troy system of play."
Amber Leggett | 5-11 | Forward | Navarre, Fla. | Sam Houston State | Choctawhatchee HS
Get To Know Amber Leggett
Leggett, a highly decorated student-athlete while at Sam Houston State, had an incredible junior season with the Bearkats where she was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Southland Conference honors and was named to the Southland All-Tournament team. During the 2020-21 season, Leggett averaged a SLC best, 20.0 points per game which set a single-season program record for scoring average. In a 31-point performance on Jan. 20 she became just the 18th Bearkat to score 1,000 career points. During her sophomore campaign in 2019-20, Leggett earned First Team All-Southland Conference honors as well as All-Defensive Team honors. That season she was the only Southland player to average 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Leggett improved statistically in each of her three seasons at Sam Houston State. She increased her scoring average each season (12.4, 15.6 and 20.0) and her rebounding average (4.7, 5.4 and 7.0). In her Bearkat career she played in 81 games making 23 starts while averaging 15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.6 assists while shooting 48 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind-the-arc.
Rigby On Leggett
"We are thrilled to welcome Amber to our Trojan family. Putting up big numbers in both points and rebounds is what she does night in and night out. What a perfect addition to our roster."
Troy is coming off its third Sun Belt Tournament Championship, fourth overall Sun Belt Title, and its third NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Chanda Rigby. Troy made national headlines in the NCAA Tournament against No. 2 seed Texas A&M when they erased a 16-point deficit to lead the Aggies late in the fourth quarter before narrowly falling to the Aggies by just four points. Troy's 80-points scored was the third-most points scored by a 15 seed in NCAA tournament history.
Follow TROY Women's Basketball
Social: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Join The Conversation: #OneTROY
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