St. Pius Basketball Star Commits to Play at Stetson

senior guard Sydni Payne has verbally committed to play women's basketball at Stetson University in Deland, FL.  She will sign a national letter-of-intent with the Hatters on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 3:15pm in the Donnellan Center on the St. Pius campus. Payne becomes the first member of the Class of 2012 to verbally commit to play in college.

"Sydni Payne has been a consistent defensive player in her time here at St. Pius," head coach Kyle Snipes said said in a statement. "Coach (Lynn) Bria and the Stetson program is not only getting a truly talented player but also a terrific young lady that will be an asset to their program off the court as well."

Payne is a four-year member of the varsity girls' basketball team at St. Pius and has started every game the previous two seasons. During the 2010-11 campaign, Payne was the leading scorer on a team that won Region 5-AAA and advanced to the state quarterfinals. She also led the team in steals with 112, recording her career high of 12 against Druid Hills. Payne recorded steals on four consecutive possessions and scored nine straight points to bring the Golden Lions back from a six-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Grady to ensure an undefeated record in the sub-region. 

Payne, who scored her career high of 18 points in the 2010 St. Pius Christmas Classic Championship, is 294 points shy of 1,000 points for her career. She led the team in scoring and was an all-region selection as a sophomore. In addition to her scoring, Payne needs just 39 steals to eclipse 250 for her career. 

The Golden Lions open the season at St. Pius in Houston in the SPX Shootout on Nov. 18. The team will play Pope John Paul II of Corpus Christi, TX, in the second game of the classic the following day. The first home game for the Golden Lions will be against North Gwinnett on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1pm.

Stetson is a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Sun conference and is led by coaching veteran, Bria. The Hatters are coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history, winning a conference championship and participating in the NCAA tournament en route to a 20-13 season. Stetson is picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun pre-season poll as voted on by the coaches and media. They also boast the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year.