GREENVILLE, S.C. — New Furman women's head basketball coach Pierre Curtis today announced the addition of four players to the Paladins' program.

Joining the Paladins will be Nia Johnson, a 5-8 graduate transfer guard from Sacramento, Calif.; Hanna Hansson, a 6-4 redshirt freshman transfer forward from Stockholm, Sweden; Asa Snyder, a 5-7 freshman guard from Hollywood, S.C.; and 5-7 freshman guard Jayda Pinder from Tampa, Fla.

Johnson comes to Furman from New Mexico, where she averaged 4.2 points and 1.2 rebounds over 19 games for the Lobos last season.  Two years ago she started in 24 games at UNLV, where she averaged 12.1 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 77.0 percent from the free throw line.  Johnson began her collegiate career at Cal State-Bakersfield, where she saw action in 28 games and made one start during the 2018-19 season.  She spent the 2019-20 campaign at Diablo Valley College.

Johnson, a 2018 graduate of West Campus (Calif.) High School where she averaged 16.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg and was all-state performer as a senior and member of two state championship teams, holds an undergraduate degree from UNLV and master's degree from New Mexico.

"Nia is extremely competitive on both ends of the floor and will give us depth and experience, as well as additional scoring ability," said Curtis. 

Hansson saw limited action in five games at Cal State Riverside a year ago.  She graduated from RIG Lulea in 2022 and played on three Swedish Division I championship squads and for U15, U16, U17, U18, and U20 Swedish National Teams over a span of seven seasons.

"I saw Hanna in a tournament in April of 2022, so when she entered the portal she was someone we wanted to add to our program," said Curtis.  "She is an inside/outside threat and has great hands and is a good rebounder. We look forward to developing and expanding her game."

Snyder attended Porter-Gaud School, where she played for Kevin Ziman and scored over 1,000 points in her prep career, leading her squad in scoring, assists, and steals as a junior and senior.  She was a three-time all-region honoree and two-time SCISA North-South All-Star and East-West JG All-Star selection.

Said Curtis, "Asa is a talented shooter with a tireless work ethic. She has a knack for always being around the ball and making plays defensively." 

Pinder fashioned an outstanding prep career at Academy of the Holy Names, scoring over 1,300 points and recording over 500 steals and 300 rebounds. She helped lead her squad to 20-9 and 24-7 seasons, respectively, as a junior and senior, netting district championships both years.

In addition to basketball, Pinder starred in track, setting new school standards in the 200m and 400m.

"Jayda is an extremely athletic wing," said Curtis. "She excelled in multiple sports in high school so now with her focus just on basketball we expect her best basketball to be ahead of her."

Curtis was named Furman's new head coach on June 9 after serving as Paladin assistant coach for 10 seasons.