DALLAS (SMU) - Jennifer Colli (Flower Mound, Texas), Elbie Gates (Garland, Texas), Brittany Gilliam (Tyler, Texas), and Leah Starr (Georgetown, Texas) have signed national letters-of-intent to attend SMU and will begin play on the women's basketball team in fall, 2005, as announced Wednesday by SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola.

Colli, a 5-10 guard, attends Marcus High School in Flower Mound. She is the younger sister of current Mustang Juli Colli. Ranked 13th on Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops.com pre-season Top Seniors, Colli was a member of the North Texas Airborne team that qualified for the SWAAU Jr. Olympic team which finished third at the BCI Nationals this past summer.

Gates is a 5-11 combo guard who attends North Garland High School. Named District 12-5A MVP last season, Gates led the district in points (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). High school honors to date include Most Improved Player, Outstanding Sophomore, Newcomer of the Year and All-District first team selection.

Gilliam, a 5-11 forward, attends John Tyler High School. She was named to the 11-5A District first team following the 2003-04 season. Gilliam averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She was a teammate of current Mustang Katy Cobb this past summer on the AAU U-17 Texas Team Express, which won the national championship.

Starr is a 6-2 post player who attends Georgetown High School. She was a TABC Region II first-team selection last year, averaging 15.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Starr was named to the 14-5A All-District first team and earned all-tournament team honors in the Georgetown Thanksgiving Tournament as well as the Lady Bulldog Holiday Classic. Starr is a Texas Basketball All-State first team selection