Franklin Pierce All-American and Division II Player of the Year makes first Senior National Team appearance and first start in two-game weekend series with Norway

RINDGE, N.H. (July 30, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy), the State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, made her first appearances for Great Britain’s Senior Women’s National Team in a pair of victories against Norway over the weekend.

Leedham and Great Britain defeated Norway in a pair of exhibition games at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff, Wales. The games came at the end of the first week of a month-long training session and were the first tune ups for Great Britain as it prepares for a series of qualifying contests for the 2009 European Championships in Latvia beginning in mid-August.

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. Great Britain’s first qualifier is August 13 at the Ukraine and then host 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 at Israel on September 13.

Leedham made her first ever senior team appearance with 18 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s 78-47 victory over Norway. She made four-of-seven shots from the field for nine points to go with four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Leedham made her first senior-level start in Sunday’s 80-72 win over the Norwegians, collecting five points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field, 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, to go with three rebounds and a steal over 15-minutes.

“They were two very, very useful games for a number of reasons,” said Great Britain head coach Mark Clark. “We ran different combinations on the floor; we went with big lineups and small ones, because we’ll need to be able to change things around in the qualifiers.”

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.