University of Minnesota Athletics
Rachel Banham Named 2011 Minnesota Miss Basketball
4/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
University of Minnesota recruit Rachel Banham capped an impressive prep career at Lakeville North High School by earning the title of Minnesota Miss Basketball at a ceremony at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday.
Banham becomes the first University of Minnesota recruit to earn the award from the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association since Katie Ohm (Elgin-Millville HS) in 2005. Overall, Banham will become the ninth Minnesota Miss Basketball to play for the Golden Gophers. Another Minnesota signee, Kayla Hirt of Bemidji High School, was among the seven finalists for the award.
The honor is among numerous awards Banham has received during her senior year at Lakeville North, as she was named Minnesota's Gatorade Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year, Class 4A All-State, and Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
"Rachel is a great player and person," Minnesota head coach Pam Borton said. "These awards and honors say a lot about her abilities as a player and her impact at both the state and national level. There is no doubt that Rachel will make an immediate impact on the court for our program. Her abilities to make her teammates better, and to create for herself are something that we're excited to bring to this talented team."
Banham led this year's Panthers to a record of 28-3. They lost in the semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League tournament, but the team was 60-3 during her final two seasons. As a junior, she led Lakeville North to a perfect record of 32-0, scoring 25 points in the Class 3A title game victory against White Bear Lake. For her career, Banham came less than 50 points shy of scoring 2,000 career points.
It marks the second straight year that a Lakeville North player has earned the award, as Banham's teammate Cassie Rochel was the 2010 recipient.
In addition to Banham and Ohm, other Gopher players to have been named Minnesota Miss Basketball since the award's inception in 1978 are Leslie Knight (Hopkins HS) in 2004; Liz Podominick (Lakeville HS) in 2003; Shannon Bolden (Marshall HS) in 2002; April Calhoun (Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) in 2001; Shannon Loeblein (St. Paul Harding HS) in 1991; Carol Ann Shudlick (Apple Valley HS) in 1990; and Laura Gardner (Bloomington Jefferson HS) in 1978.
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