2010 - 11 Miss Basketball Rachel Banham
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.
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