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UCSB: averaged 9.1 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals as a sophomore while playing 33.9 minutes a game ... averaged six points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals as a freshman ... was only one of two Gauchos to appear in all 30 games as a freshman ... named the teams Most Improved Player as a freshman.
Sylmar HS: Played four seasons of varsity basketball at Sylmar High School, finishing her career in 2005 with a school-record 1,350 points...Rated as the No. 26 high school senior in California by Grass Roots Sports last season, when she was a First Team All-CIF/Los Angeles City Section honoree and a McDonald's All-American Nominee...named Mission Valley League MVP in 2003 after leading the Spartans to the City Section finals, and again as a junior when she averaged a career-best 17 points per contest...Her playoff scoring average was considerably higher than her regular-season mark each year...A personal best of 25 points came against Crenshaw during the 2003 postseason...An excellent defender who averaged nearly five steals per game as a prepster under head coach Michelle Chevalier...A four-year honor roll member, Fears also lettered in track and field as a high jumper...Played club hoops for FBC, earning a total of 10 all-tournament awards.
Personal: Born April 22, 1987 in Lynwood, Calif. ... daughter of Sherry Fears and Ronnie Brooks...Leonard Merriweather is her step-father... has 16 siblings, five on her mother's side and 11 on her father's ... majoring in Africana Studies ... play basketball overseas and later become a police officer ... favorite author is Toni Morrison, while she enjoys watching "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as well as re-runs of "Dawson's Creek," "Baldwin Hills," "Moesha," and "Martin"... is a loyal fan of her hometown hoops teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sparks ... considers "Love and Basketball" and "The Notebook" among her favorite movies ... also recruited by Baylor, Oregon State, Loyola Marymount and Utah State ... most admires her mother because "she has always believed in me from the beginning."
