Grad transfer Deja Winters joins Gophers women's basketball team

Deja Winters will join the Gophers women's basketball team next season, the school announced Friday.

Winters is a grad transfer who played the past two seasons at North Carolina A&T after two seasons at Seton Hall. She is a 5-11 guard who was a high school standout at Richmond Heights in Cleveland.

Winters started 11 of the 17 games she played in for the Aggies last season, averaging 14.1 points and leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in three-pointers made and attempted, shooting an MEAC leading 34.7% (52-for-120). She was first team All-MEAC in leading A&T to the NCAA Tournament; she hit a go-ahead three-pointer with three seconds remaining in the league tournament title game.

"Deja is someone who brings valuable experience to our program," Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said in a news release. "I'm really excited to add depth to our team, especially along the perimeter, with someone of Deja's ability."

Winters sat out the 2018-19 season after transferring from Seton Hall, where she averaged 4.6 points as a sophomore and 5.8 as a freshman.

In high school, she was a finalist for Ohio's Ms. Basketball Award after averaging 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals per game as a senior.

The Gophers have 12 of 13 players returning next season. Winters will be one of four newcomers, joining graduate transfer Bailey Helgren and freshmen Maggie Czinano and Alanna Micheaux.