Shaunteria Taylor puts pen to paper Monday, joining Georgia Southwestern State’s basketball team.

CHULA — Shaunteria Taylor will continue her basketball career close to home.

Taylor became the first Tiftarea Academy Lady Panther to sign a basketball scholarship in several years Monday as she signed to play with Georgia Southwestern State.

A three-year starter, Taylor averaged 17 points per game this season, bucketing a team-leading 391 points. She notched her single game high with 31 points against Brookwood School in leading Tiftarea to a 58-51 win on Feb. 2. She scored 20 or more points seven times during the year.

Calling Taylor a team leader who stepped up her senior year, Lady Panthers head coach Amy Strenth said she was “very deserving of this award.”

“I want to thank God for everything,” Taylor said prior to signing. She also thanked her parents and family and coaches.

She said her life changed when she transferred to Tiftarea in 2015.

“You really changed my life for the better,” she said of the school.

Tiftarea surprised Region 3-AAA, advancing to state. During Taylor’s junior and senior seasons, the team won back-to-back region championships. The team finished 23-2 in 2017 and had a streak of 21 consecutive wins during the season.

Taylor totaled 928 points as a high school hoops player, racking up several awards along the way. She earned all-region for each her three seasons in Chula and this season was named All-State as well as to the GISA All-Star team.

Taylor already has some familiarity with where she is headed, particularly the playing floor. Tiftarea played in the state tournament on Southwestern’s floor in 2017 and won the region title there this year.