PEORIA, Ill. - The first day of the Fall signing period was a busy one for Bradley Women's Basketball head coach Paula Buscher as the Braves received three National Letters of Intent Wednesday. Buscher and the Braves will welcome 6-1 forward Kelly Frings (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI), 5-9 guard Kelsey Budd (Prairie de Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) and 6-3 center Alyson Spinas-Valainis (Davenport, Iowa/Assumption) for the 2010-11 season.
Frings earned honorable mention all-state recognition from both the Associated Press and the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association last season. She earned first-team all-conference honors after leading the league in scoring (13.1 points per game), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and steals (2.5 spg) as a junior. Frings also knocked down a conference-best 28 three-pointers and was named to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All-Area team. She was one of six players from the state of Wisconsin and one of only five seniors to earn honorable mention All-American honors from the Sporting News.
"Kelly is a very versatile player because of her athletic ability," Buscher stated. "She has the size and ability to play in the post, but also has the range to step out and shoot from the outside. Kelly is a very smart player and is a tireless worker, which will only help her to continue to improve her game.
Budd was an AAU teammate of Frings with Wisconsin Fastbreak. As a junior, she averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game, while garnering first-team All-Area recognition from the Madison State Journal. Budd also took home honorable mention all-state honors from the Associated Press. A three-time first-team all-conference pick, she helped the Eagles to their first conference title in 30 years and a sectional title game appearance in 2008-09. Last year she scored 30 points three times and has helped Sauk Prairie to a 51-15 record in her three varsity seasons.
"Kelsey is a very tough minded player and will likely play point guard," Buscher said. "She has great vision and has shown the ability to get her teammates involved. She is able to score when needed to, but the thing I like most is her competitiveness on and off the court."
The Wisconsin natives are the first Bradley women's basketball recruits from the Badger state since Tami VanGalder (Clinton, Wis.) played for the Braves from 1991-95.
A two-sport standout at Assumption High School, Spinas-Valainis was a first-team all-state honoree last season. The team's MVP as a junior, she also earned first-team all-district and first-team all-conference honors last year after averaging 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds to go along with a school season-record 77 blocked shots. She helped Assumption to a state championship as a sophomore. Spinas-Valainis was also a standout in softball, where she was a first-team all-state pitcher. She was a first-team all-conference selection at pitcher, while also earning second-team all-conference honors as a utility player.
"Alyson gives us good size in the post," Buscher added. "She is very active in the post and should be a nice compliment to the players we will have returning. Alyson comes from a very successful program and will provide us with an inside scoring threat in addition to her defensive presence in the middle and on the glass."
Bradley's 2009-10 roster features two seniors and just five upperclassmen. The Braves open the 2009-10 slate Friday with a 7:05 p.m. game at Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Ill. Friday's contest will be broadcast in the Peoria area on 96.5 FM ESPN Radio with the pre-game show starting at 6:50 p.m.
