Franklin Pierce All-American and Division II Player of the Year contributes in Great Britain’s sweep of Holland, split in Croatia

RINDGE, N.H. (August 8, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy), the State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, helped Great Britain’s Women’s Senior National Team post a 3-1 record during a trip to Holland and Croatia this week.

Great Britain swept a pair of games against the Dutch in Holland last weekend, posting a 67-52 victory on Saturday, before notching a 78-69 win on Sunday. The British women then headed to Croatia for a pair of games in Split. Croatia snapped Britain’s perfect test record with an 81-69 victory, before GBR rounded out the trip with a 72-62 victory on Wednesday.

Leedham opened the trip with a ten-point effort in game one in Holland. She posted 13 points in Great Britain’s loss at Croatia, before returning the next night with nine points, two assists and two steals in Britain’s first-ever victory over Croatia.

“The result wasn’t the important thing, but it’s nice to be the first British team to beat Croatia,” said Great Britain head coach Mark Clark. “The important thing is that we are progressing and we continued to get a chance to look at different combinations and see how people are able to fill different roles.”

Great Britain has returned to its training site in Cardiff, Wales, where it prepares for its first European Championship qualifier next Wednesday, August 13, in the Ukraine. Great Britain, which earned promotion to EuroBasket Division A last winter, must remain in Europe’s highest division to earn an automatic spot in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. After its opening qualifier in Ukraine, GBR hosts Lithuania in Cardiff on August 20. Germany and Israel round out the group, in which two qualify for the final in Latvia after the two-legged qualification round. Also important for Great Britain is staying away from the bottom of the group to avoid relegation back into EuroBasket Division B. Great Britain’s eight qualifiers wrap up with a game in Israel on September 13.

Leedham is keeping a weekly journal of her summer experiences with the Great Britain Women’s National Team for Franklin Pierce’s athletics website. The link for the journal is at: http://old.franklinpierce.edu/pages/Athletics/WomensBasketball/wbkbleedhamjnl.htm.

Leedham led Franklin Pierce (27-6, 18-4 NE-10) to its best season in program history last winter, reaching the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb., after claiming its first Northeast Region Championship. She led the Northeast-10 for the second-straight year in scoring, with 23.0 points (3rd nationally), and steals, with 3.4 (12th) per game this season, to go with 7.0 rebounds (11th NE-10) and 4.0 assists per game (5th). She led the Ravens in scoring in 32 of their 33 games and set single-season records for points (758), steals (111) and free-throws made (180) – the latter two breaking her own single-season marks.

Leedham averaged 28.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals in Franklin Pierce’s four NCAA Tournament contests, netting 30-plus points in their last three games. She earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the Northeast Regional, leading the Ravens to their first regional championship, and was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the Elite Eight.