ELLENSBURG (Apr. 2) -- After spending most of the 2009-10 season without a true point guard in its lineup, the Central Washington University women's basketball team may have filled that void with the enrollment of former Sacramento State guard Nneka Payne. Head coach Jeff Whitney has announced that Payne has enrolled in classes at CWU this quarter and will join the Wildcats for the 2010-11 season.

"Nneka's transfer to Central fills a key spot that we as a program need to be successful in the coming years," Whitney said. "We now have a very athletic point guard who can score as well. She is a great shooter who can play excellent defense, and is a very solid all-around basketball player who should make an immediate impact in our program."

The 5-foot-6 Payne, who prepped at both Auburn and Auburn Riverside high schools and graduated from Auburn in 2008, played in 36 games over two seasons at Sacramento State. She averaged 4.0 points per game as a freshman in 2008-09, appearing in 28 of the Hornets' contests and earning her only start against Eastern Washington. As a sophomore this past winter, she appeared in eight games and averaged 5.9 points per game in those appearances before leaving the team in December.

During her high school career, Payne was a first-team all-South Puget Sound League honoree during her two seasons at Auburn. A scoring point guard during her prep days, she averaged 14.0 points per game as a junior and 15.0 points per game as a senior with the Trojans. Her career scoring high at Auburn was a 29-point effort against Bonney Lake in which she scored 12 fourth-quarter points.

Central Washington finished 7-19 overall and 4-12 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this past winter.