One's loss is another's gain.

In this case, the University of Memphis women's basketball team filled another open scholarship Monday with the addition of University of Georgia transfer Brittany Carter.

Carter, a 5-foot-9 guard from Covington and graduate of Newton High, appeared in 14 games last season as a freshman at Georgia.

"Brittany is a player who believes in our vision to become the class of Conference USA," said Memphis coach Melissa McFerrin. "She believes that she is a player who can help us get back to the NCAA tournament and advance.

"She is an athlete who wants to play in a fast-breaking, fast-tempo style," McFerrin added. "She will fit in perfectly in that regard, and she is motivated to be a builder in this program. She wants to be able to look back four years from now and say that she has helped build Memphis women's basketball back to prominence in our conference, regionally and nationally."

Carter is already somewhat familiar with the Memphis women's basketball program, as she is a former AAU teammate of rising sophomore guard Alex Winchell.

Both Carter and Winchell played AAU basketball for the Georgia Nike Elite team.

For the Bulldogs, Carter averaged 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. She will sit out the 2008-2009 season per NCAA transfer rules; however, she will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2009-2010 season at Memphis.

At Newton, the high-flying guard was a three-year starter. Despite battling injuries in her senior campaign, Carter earned 2006-2007 All-County Player of the Year honors under then first-year coach Tiffani Johnson.

"I think she did well," Johnson said regarding Carter's first season at Georgia. "Your freshman year just takes some adjustment, but I think she did the best that she could. It turned out that Georgia wasn't where she wanted to be."

Following her prep career, Carter - the niece of former Georgia Bulldog basketball player Charles Carter - was ranked 21st in the country by the All-Star Girls Report. She was also ranked No. 27 in the country by www.hoopgurlz.com and No. 39 by www.scout.com.

Johnson, who still keeps in close contact with Carter on a regular basis, isn't sure if playing time was a factor or not.

"Eventually she was going to see playing time, but I don't think that's why she made the decision," Johnson said. "She's trying to do what is best for her, but I can't really pinpoint it to playing time. Actually, I think that was a small factor."

Carter plans on majoring in exercise and sport science or sports administration.

Additional information provided by the University of Memphis.