BEAUMONT, Texas - Looking to build upon last season in which they reached the second round of the Western Athletic Conference Championship tournament, Lamar University head women's basketball coach Aqua Franklin is adding four key signees for the upcoming 2022-23 season. The Cardinals will be welcoming in two Houstonians in Telisha Brown and R'Mani Taylor, one Huntsville native in Alyiah Craft, and one Mansfield native in Anaya Bernard.
 
"This is a great day for our program," said LU head coach Aqua Franklin. "We are so excited to welcome Alyiah, R'Mani, Telisha and Anaya to the Cardinal family. During the recruiting process our staff wanted to find players that would fit perfectly in what we want to do on the court and our culture off the court. These four individuals will truly impact our program, university and the Beaumont-Golden Triangle community."

 
Anaya Bernard - 5'10" - Guard/Forward - Duncanville HS/Idaho State (Mansfield, Texas)
 
Bernard joins the Cardinals after spending last season with the Idaho State Bengals. There, she appeared in 25 games scoring 49 points and grabbing 21 rebounds.
 
While at Duncanville High School, Bernard led the Panthers to a state championship in 2020 while earning the first of two second-team all-district honors in 2020 and in 2021 was named to the District 11-6A First Team. She also excelled off the court earning two academic all-district honors while being a member of the National Honor Society. Bernard plans to major in biology while at LU.
 
"We are excited about the addition of Anaya," said Franklin. "She will add experience, size, versatility and depth to our program. She has a great skill set and can defend multiple positions."
 

Telisha Brown - 5'6" - Guard - Legacy School of Sport Sciences/Blinn Junior College (Houston, Texas)
 
Transferring in from BJC, Brown is currently a redshirt freshman. Averaging 13.6 points per game on 40.0% field goals made, she led the conference in three-point percentage with 42% made from downtown. She tallied 6.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.4 steals per game. Brown would earn multiple honors including second-team All-American in the NJCAA DI, all-conference, all-region, and being named the Region XIV Tournament MVP for the tournament champion Buccaneers.

At Legacy, Brown was the district MVP in 2017 and the 2018 district player of the year.
 
"We are so thrilled to have Telisha join our program," said Franklin. "She is a dynamic and efficient scorer. "TT" is very shifty with the ball in her hands and has great court vision."
 

Alyiah Craft - 5'6" - Guard - Huntsville HS (Huntsville, Texas)
 
Arriving to Beaumont from Huntsville, Craft will join the Cardinals after earning her second district MVP and leading the Lady Hornets to the area round of the playoffs.Throughout her high school career, Craft was a vital part of her team leading them to four straight district titles and being tabbed as the 16-5A Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
 
"Alyiah has an unbelievable motor and never takes a play off on either end of the floor," said Franklin. "Her hustle, toughness and competitiveness will make an immediate impact."

 
R'Mani Taylor - 5'6" - Guard - Shadow Creek HS (Houston, Texas)
 
Taylor will start her freshman campaign in Cardinal Red for the 2022-23 season after leading the Lady Sharks of Shadow Creek to a 29-5 record, a share for the district 23-6A title and a run to the regional quarterfinals as a senior. Throughout her career, Taylor scored 1684 points to become the all-time leading scorer for the Lady Sharks, dished out 575 assists, stole the ball 272 times, and secured 381 rebounds to go with 50 blocks.

This two-time district MVP and TABC All-Region Player of the Year was also selected as three-time district all-academic team and part of the Greater Houston Area Girls Basketball Association all-state team. Taylor will major in kinesiology at LU.

"R'Mani is an exciting player to watch," said Franklin. "She is a three-level scorer that can also defend. R'Mani is the total package and I know our fans are going to enjoy watching her over the next four years."