BATON ROUGE -- LSU women’s basketball head coach Van Chancellor has received the National Letters of Intent from three student-athletes who make up the 2010 Lady Tiger signing class that is ranked No. 10 in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz.com, it was announced on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

The three players will be eligible to compete during the 2010-11 season and include Jeanne Kenney, a 5-8 guard from Baton Rouge; Shanece McKinney, a 6-4 post player from Mobile, Ala., and Theresa Plaisance, a 6-5 post player from Houma, La.

The prized signing class is LSU’s third Top 10 by ESPN Hoop Gurlz.com since 2007. All three signees are ranked in the ESPN HoopGurlz 100.

“We are very happy as a staff with the three players we signed today,” Chancellor said. “We have signed people who can shoot the basketball, people that have size, people that can defend and people that can rebound. Anytime that you can sign three of the top 100 players in America, you are excited. Our staff did an outstanding job.”

Kenney is one of the top prep players to ever come out of Baton Rouge. Ranked No. 31 by ESPN HoopGurlz, Kenney has led St. Michael to back-to-back Class 4A state championships. As a junior, she averaged 14.8 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and three steals per game during the second title run.

“She can do it all – shoot and pass – and she has a great understanding of the game,” Chancellor said. “She is a smart player. She can have a major impact here at LSU with her abilities.”

Kenney is a two-time all-metro selection and was voted the Class 4A Most Outstanding Player by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association last spring. She is widely considered the top high school player from Baton Rouge since former Lady Tiger Seimone Augustus.

Plaisance, ranked the No. 8 post player in the nation and the No. 40 overall by ESPN, posted 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest last season at Vandebilt Catholic. She was named the New Orleans Times Picayune’s Female Athlete of the Year as a sophomore at Ursuline before transferring to Vanderbilt Catholic.

“Theresa is a shooting post player,” Chancellor said. “You have never seen a player like her at 6-foot-4 that can shoot the basketball like she can. She is a really good athlete that can run the floor that has a tremendous understanding of the game. Her upside is sky high.”

Ironically, Plaisance and Kenney faced each other in the 4A state title game. Though St. Michael won on a late 3-pointer, Plaisance poured in 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to carry her team.

Plaisance is the daughter of DoBee Plaisance, current women’s basketball head coach at Nicholls State.

McKinney hails from Mobile where she guided LeFlore High School to a 25-2 record and a Class 5A state title last season. The 6-foot-4 post player averaged 18.0 points, 10.0 boards and 3.0 blocks per game as a junior. She is ranked the No. 79 overall player in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz.com.

“Shanece is a shot-blocking and rebounding machine,” Chancellor said. “She has one of the greatest upsides of any player we have ever signed here at LSU. She has the potential to come in and be a force inside and out.”

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