Named national player of the year by Daktronics and Women’s Division II Bulletin

RINDGE, NH. (March 29, 2010) – Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) added two more 2010 national player-of-the-year awards to her mantle on Monday as she garnered the top honor from both Daktronics and Women’s Division II Bulletin. The announcement of Monday’s honors comes one week after Leedham was named the 2010 State Farm/WBCA Division II National Player of the Year at the Elite Eight Banquet in St. Joseph’s, Mo.

Leedham earned WDIIB’s top award after she was named the publication’s preseason national player of the year back in October. She earned Daktronics’ top honor after she was named the organization’s East Region Player of the Year two weeks ago.

“It has been a great achievement for me to be named player of the year for the second time,” Leedham said. “I would like to thank my teammates and coaches (past and present) as well as my loving family.”

Leedham had a spectacular senior season in 2009-10, as she has staked her claim to having one of the finest careers, not just in Division II, but across all divisions in women’s college basketball history. She led Division II in scoring this season at 26.9 points per game, while also ranking second in steals at 4.2 thefts per outing.

Leedham became the all-time leading scorer at the NCAA Division II level earlier this month as she dropped in a career-high tying 39 points in a Northeast-10 Tournament semifinal win over Bentley. She concluded her career with 3,050 points, which is fifth most all-time across all divisions in women’s college basketball, ahead of former legends such as Cheryl Miller and Chamique Holdsclaw.

Leedham collected 459 steals during her career, which is the seventh most in Division II history. She is the only player at the Division ll level to rank among the top-10 in career scoring and steals.

In addition to all the honors and career marks listed above, Leedham broke several other records this season, including: the Northeast-10 men’s & women’s basketball career scoring record; the NE-10 career field goals made record; the NE-10 career steals record; the NE-10 career free throws made record; and the school-record for career scoring.

“I love the game of basketball and it is my dream to continue playing,” Leedham said. “My main goal right now is the 2012 Olympic Games in Great Britain.”

Leedham helped guide Franklin Pierce to a 32-2 record during the 2009-10 season and a berth in the NCAA Division II Final Four in St. Joseph’s, Mo. The Ravens advanced to Missouri after winning their third-consecutive East Regional title. Franklin Pierce opened this season with 23-straight wins and earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking back on Jan. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN WBCA Division II Top-25 Poll. The 32 wins this year were a school-record for victories in a single season. Franklin Pierce also won the Northeast-10 Conference regular season and tournament titles for the second time in as many seasons.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)