CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team and head coach Kate Peterson Abiad added another piece to their recruiting class for the upcoming season, as 5-foot-6 guard Marquia (KK) Turner (North Canton, Ohio/Xavier) has decided to join the program.
Turner, a senior transfer from Xavier, will join Cleveland State for the upcoming season, but will not be eligible to play until the 2018-19 season with one year of eligibility remaining.
"It is not often that a mid-major program such as ours has the opportunity to add a player as highly recruited as Marquia was out of high school," Peterson Abiad said. "KK is gifted athletically, and has a passion for the game of basketball. She has spent the past three years gaining valuable experience at the collegiate level and will be a great asset to our program during her senior year."
Turner played her first three years of collegiate basketball at Xavier University, where she was an instrumental part of a Musketeer team that picked up 47 wins during her three-year tenure.
Last season as a junior, Turner started all 30 games, averaging 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. As Xavier's primary ball handler, Turner led the team with 113 total assists, and ranked sixth in the BIG EAST averaging 3.8 assists per contest. Turner finished the season with 294 total points, recording double figures on 15 occasions.
As a sophomore, Turner appeared in 28 of Xavier's 30 games, and was one of the top free throw shooters on the team, posting a .806 clip from the line (29-for-36). Turner also averaged 4.4 points and 1.7 boards per game, while notching 53 total assists and 16 steals.
During her freshman campaign Turner played in 13 games – and picked up seven starts – before sustaining a season-long knee injury that kept her on the sideline for the remainder of the 2014-15 season.
"Marquia's offensive skill set includes an explosive and physical penetration game, as well as a consistent pull-up jump shot. She has the capabilities of making an impact in the Horizon League, and I am excited about adding her to our Cleveland State women's basketball program and bringing her back to the area of Ohio where she grew up," Peterson Abiad said.
The North Canton, Ohio native is a graduate of Hoover High School where she was named an All-Ohio First Team member as a senior and an All-Ohio Third Team member as a junior. A two-time First Team All-League honoree, Turner helped Hoover to a 27-3 record and a state runner-up finish as a senior.
