Iowa 8 guard Jinaya Houston signs National Letter of Intent, will play for Iowa

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Davenport North guard Jinaya Houston signed her National Letter of Intent and will play for the Iowa Hawkeyes starting in the 2017-18 season.

Houston, a 6-foot-1 guard/wing, averaged 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game as a junior, when she led Davenport North to a 20-3 record and its first-ever state tournament berth. She's a three-time all-Mississippi Athletic Conference honoree and she was named to the Des Moines Register's Iowa Eight team before last season.

“We are thrilled to have Jinaya join our team next year,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said in a news release. “She is an incredible basketball player that plays either forward position. Jinaya can handle the ball, shoot the 3 and play good defense. She has grown up in the state as a Hawkeye fan and it is wonderful to see this dream become a reality."

ESPN gave Houston three stars and a 90 scouts grade. It also rated her the 19th-best wing in the class of 2017. Blue Star, which ranked Iowa's 2016 class as the country's seventh-best, pegs Houston as 2017's No. 118 recruit.

Houston verbally committed to Iowa in November last year.

Iowa opens its season at home Friday at 6 p.m. against Oral Roberts.

Bain covers Hawkeyes basketball for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Des Moines Register and HawkCentral. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.