Conference MVP signs with Nuggets
For immediate release . . . May 31, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — Ciara Taylor, a 5-foot-10 forward from Contra Costa College of San Pablo, Calif., and the most valuable player of the Bay Valley Conference this past season, has signed a women's basketball scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana.

Taylor, from Hayward, Calif., averaged 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2006-07. She was second-team all-state after helping Contra Costa go 28-9 and win the conference championship.

As a freshman at Contra Costa in 2005-06, Taylor averaged a team-leading 10.3 points and had two triple-doubles for a 21-15 team. She was third-team all-state and first-team all-conference.

Taylor will have two seasons of eligibility at Xavier.

"Ciara is quick enough to do it all," Xavier Coach Bo Browder said. "Her mid-range game is real. She's one of the best players we've signed in the past six years. She will make her teammates better, and she will make a major impact on our program."

Taylor is a 2005 graduate of Hayward High School and was first-team all-league three times. She is the niece of Terrell Lowery, who hit .282 in four seasons (1997-2000) of Major League Baseball.

Taylor is the Gold Nuggets' fourth signed recruit for the 2007-08 season and the first from outside Louisiana. Previously signed were guard Shayla Boyd and forwards Danielle Jones and Johnna Williams, all from the Baton Rouge area.