MOORHEAD, Minn. – Head Coach Karla Nelson and the Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball staff announced the signing of two 2010-11 freshman Dragons. The announcement was made on Wed., Nov. 11.

The program welcomes Haley Thomforde of Eastview High School (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Emily Palmer of Roosevelt High School (Sioux Falls, S.D.) to the team.

Thomforde, is a three time letterwinner at EHS where she has been a key member to the team's back-to-back third place finishes at the Minnesota State High School League Tournament. Named a member of the 2009 All-State Tournament team, she was also selected for the honorable mention All-Lake Conference team for the second consecutive season.  The two time academic All-State was selected to captain the Lightning this season after averaging 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a junior.

“Haley is going to be a tremendous asset at point guard for us,” Nelson said. “She uses the floor well and will be able to bring an offensive presence to the position.”

Palmer, a four-sport athlete, current attending RHS where she earned her fourth letter in basketball in 2009 after averaging 6.2 points moving her career total to 757 points at the end of her junior season. The Beresford, S.D. native, played her underclassmen years at Beresford High School where she earned Big Sioux Conference honorable mention honors in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. At BHS she was a member of the 2007-08 team that finished seventh at the South Dakota State High School Championships. At RHS, Palmer aided her team to win the Greater Dakota Conference Championships, District Championships and to a sixth place finish at the state tournament.

“Emily is a great all-around athlete,” Nelson said. “Her athleticism will be hard to match up against, as she is a tremendous competitor with good offensive skills from the perimeter to below the hoop.”

The Dragons will open their 2009-10 season on Monday evening as they host Minot State in a non-conference game at 6 p.m.