DAVIS, Calif. — Holly Winterburn, a 5-foot-11 guard from Northampton, England, who spent her freshman year at the University of Oregon after developing into one of the top young players in Europe, has signed a grant-in-aid agreement to continue her academic and athletic career at UC Davis, head women's basketball coach Jennifer Gross announced on Wednesday.

"We are thrilled that Holly has decided to continue her career at UC Davis," said Gross. "Holly is a highly skilled guard and a versatile scorer who creates opportunities for both herself and her teammates. She is a tremendous competitor with a great passion for the game."

Appearing in 28 games for the Pacific-12 Conference regular-season and tournament champion Ducks during the 2019-20 campaign, Winterburn averaged 3.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in just over 11 minutes per contest during her true freshman season, helping Oregon to a 31-2 overall record, a 17-1 mark in league play and a No. 2 national ranking in the final polls.

She finished with a season-high 17 points — including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc — against South Dakota State on Dec. 8 en route to Pac-12 freshman of the week honors, ending the year shooting 37 percent from the field overall and draining 14 three-pointers, while adding an 80 percent (12-for-15) clip from the line.

Prior to her arrival in Eugene, Winterburn was named the Women's Elite Academy Basketball League MVP in 2018-19 at Charnwood College, helping the school finish undefeated in North Conference play and win the WEABL title. She averaged 26.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 4.4 spg, and five three-pointers per game — including a school- and league-record 13 three-pointers and 54 points in a single contest. She was a first-team all-league selection twice in 2018 and 2019.

As a member of the Leicester Riders, Winterburn helped her club to a second-place Women's British Basketball League finish in 2019, averaging 17.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 4.0 apg, during the playoffs, and 15.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 3.9 apg, during the regular season, while finishing sixth in the league in steals, averaging 2.33 per game. She has twice been named the WBBL Young Player of the Year and was named to the 2019 WBBL All-British Team.

Winterburn, who intends to major in human development at UC Davis, also brings with her a wealth of international experience as a member of the Great Britain National Team since 2014, named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA U-20 Division B European Championship after averaging 18.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 4.8 apg. She also competed with the Great Britain U-18 (2017) and U-16 (2015 and 2016) squads at various FIBA Women's European Championships, helping the U-18 squad finish fourth at the Women's European Division B Championships, averaging 13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 2.5 apg, over eight contests, including a tournament-high 31 points in 30 minutes against Slovakia.

"Holly's experience playing both internationally and in the Pac-12 should help her to be an immediate contributor to our team," Gross said. "More importantly, Holly is an amazing young woman and a bright student. I know she will be a nice compliment to the other players we have and will help us continue to sustain our championship culture."

She is the fourth student-athlete added to the Aggie roster for the 2020-21 season, joining high school standouts Bria Shine (Christian Brothers HS / Sacramento, Calif.), Allie Carreon (San Diego Christian HS / Chula Vista, Calif.), and Mazatlan Harris (Cathedral Catholic HS / San Diego, Calif.), who signed national letters of intent back in November.

Winterburn is also reunited with her high school and club teammate, Megan Jones, on the Aggie roster. Jones, who redshirted the 2019-20 season for UC Davis, and Winterburn both played at Charnwood College, located in Loughborough, Leicestershire, and for the Leicester Riders club team.

The Aggies wrapped up their fifth consecutive winning season with a 17-12 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play in 2019-20, winning the league by a full three games en route to their fourth consecutive Big West Conference title — and the program's fifth overall. UC Davis became the first program to win four consecutive league regular season titles since UC Santa Barbara from 1996-2005 and only the third program to accomplish the feat in the history of the conference.

After the season, Head Coach Jennifer Gross was named the Big West Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year — the first coach in the history of the league to do so — while junior Cierra Hall was named the conference's defensive player of the year in addition to spots on the All-Big West Second Team and the Big West All-Defensive Team. Joining Hall on the postseason honor roll were senior Katie Toole, who was named to the all-league second team, and freshman Evanne Turner, who became the eighth Aggie named to the league's all-freshman team.

2019-20 UC DAVIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNEES
Name (Height, Position, Hometown / High School / Previous School, Club Team)
Holly Winterburn (5-11, Guard, Northampton, England / Charnwood College / University of Oregon, Leicester Riders)
Bria Shine (6-1, Guard, Sacramento, Calif. / Christian Brothers HS '20, Cal Stars EYBL)*
Allie Carreon (5-10, Wing, Chula Vista, Calif. / San Diego Christian HS '20, Cal Sparks)*
Mazatlan Harris (6-2, Forward, San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic HS '20, San Diego Sol)*

* denotes previously announced signee
 

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