Merritt among offseason departures

In an interview with The Temple News, redshirt sophomore guard Monaye Merritt confirmed that she has officially transferred from Temple University and will attend Nova Southeastern University in the upcoming fall semester.

“[Nova Southeastern] is a winning program,” Merritt said. “There’s a slot immediately for me to come and play. My major [of Kinesiology] there is really good. When I went down there, I was able to be myself and it felt natural.”

The Philadelphia native from Friends’ Central High School is now the fourth Owl from the 2013-14 roster to leave the program and the seventh departing player in the last two seasons. Rateska Brown, Jacquilyn Jackson, May Dayan, Leah Horton, Meghan Roxas and Sally Kabengano complete the list of non-returning Temple players between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons.

By transferring to a Division II program in Nova Southeastern, Merritt will have the opportunity to play immediately in the upcoming season and she will spend her remaining two years of eligibility with the Sharks.

Serving as the backup point guard in 20 games for the Owls, Merritt averaged 3.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last season, playing in nearly 15 minutes each contest. In a home loss to a nationally ranked Louisville Cardinals team, Merritt played a career game in place of starting guard Feyonda Fitzgerald, recording a career-high 14 points and adding five assists, five rebounds and four steals in 24 minutes.