Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – As Rebecca Tillett has constructed a culture built on elevating the Longwood women's basketball program on and off the court, the third-year head coach added to that foundation with her third signing class prior to the opening of the 2020-21 season.
 
Tillett and her staff announced the signing of point guard Kennedy Calhoun (Harrisburg, N.C./ Hickory Ridge High School) in the early signing period.
 
A two-way point guard, Calhoun blossomed into a star at Hickory Ridge High School. A three-year letter winner with women's basketball, Calhoun has led her team to the SW4A conference championship in all three years on the team, winning the title as both a freshman and a junior.
 
Awarded the 2018-19 Charlotte Basketball Rising Star Award, Calhoun averaging 12.4 points, 4.2 assists, 2.8 steals, and 2.3 rebounds as a sophomore when she was also named to the SW4A All-conference team. As a junior, she bumped her scoring average to 17.3 points per game, accompanied by 3.9 assists, 3.8 steals, and 3.1 rebounds as an all-around force on the court on the way to earning SW4A All-conference marks for the second consecutive year in addition to All-District 9 honors.
 
"The family oriented and competitive environment played a key role in my decision, but the relationship that I developed with Coach Tillett over the years made the decision to attend Longwood easy," said Calhoun, who was named 2019-20 Hickory Ridge High School Team MVP as a junior. "Her drive to empower and motivate others on and off the basketball court is outstanding."
 
A member of the honor roll each of her first three high school years, Calhoun, a senior set to graduate this spring, also volunteers as a reading buddy for elementary school children, serves meals for senior citizens, and adopts a family during Christmas. After college, she hopes to pursue a career in basketball, both as a player and on the sidelines as a coach.
 
"Kennedy's recruiting story began our first year at Longwood when she attended our very first elite camp," Tillett said. "We still know what color t-shirt she was wearing. She immediately stood out as a young, hungry point guard. Kennedy plays with fire, intensity, toughness and the ability to think plays ahead, which are all prerequisites for the best who play her position. Her defensive consistency and ability to pressure full court will add to our defensive schemes.
 
Calhoun represents the third early signing class under Tillett and will join the team following her senior year at Hickory Ridge. Tillett's previous two signing classes helped produce one of the biggest turnarounds in the country in 2019-20, as Longwood won nine more games than the year prior on the way to hosting the program's first Big South tournament game. The team is set to face a challenging 2020-21 schedule that begins with a trip to Durham, North Carolina to take on the Duke Blue Devils on opening night.
 
"Kennedy is the type of high-character teammate who can raise the energy level of everyone around her," Tillett said. "She will fit in well with the most competitive people in the room."
 
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