by By Jeri Thorpse
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors announced his fourth addition to the Razorback roster in Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation) on Tuesday.
Dungee joins the Razorbacks after one season at Oklahoma. She will sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules.
“Chelsea saying yes to the Arkansas Razorbacks is the jumpstart we need to reinvigorate our regional visibility,” Neighbors said. “She is widely known for being ultra-competitive and willing to do whatever it takes to help her team. Chelsea has international experience winning a gold-medal with USA Basketball and she was an All-Big 12 freshman team performer at Oklahoma.
“She is a perfect fit for our style of play and will make an impact for us both in her transfer year and in our future,” Neighbors continued. “Chelsea played for Darlene Calip, who I worked with at Tulsa, and so I am confident we have added a much-needed and high-quality player to our Razorback roster. Our fans will be reminded of great Razorback competitors like fellow Oklahoman Wendi Willits, Sarah Pfeifer and Melissa Wolff. Chelsea has the potential to leave her own mark in the history of Razorback basketball.”
Dungee was a Big 12 All-Freshman Team member in 2017 after appearing in 33 games with 18 starts for the Sooners. She was second on the team with an 81.1 free throw percentage and averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
Dungee had a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds in a road win at Texas Tech, and she went 6-for-12 from the floor with two 3-pointers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Washington as a freshman.
The 5-11 guard played two years each at Preston (Okla.) and Sapulpa (Okla.) High Schools. With Preston as a freshman and sophomore, she helped the team to a state title averaging 25.9 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 5.3 assists per game. She scored 52 points on 18-of-25 shooting against Tulsa Rogers in her sophomore season. Dungee earned Gatorade Payer of the Year honors and earned selection to the Oklahoma Super 5, and first team all-state honors as a sophomore. Dungee played her junior and senior seasons at Sapulpa scoring 18.4 ppg and grabbing 4.7 rpg in her final year.
In addition to her high school career, Dungee led USA Basketball’s U16 squad to a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championships.
Dungee brings the total number of newcomers to six for next season.
