Leedham Nets 14 as Great Britain Falls to Lithuania
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All-American Johannah Leedham, the State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, is fouled while driving to the basket in today's loss to Lithuania for Great Britain. PHOTO BY: Dan Wooller, courtesy of British Basketball |
Franklin Pierce All-American and Division II Player of the Year converts 10-of-11 free-throw attempts in Britain's second EuroBasket qualifier
CARDIFF, Wales (August 20, 2008) - Franklin Pierce University All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy), the State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, but the Great Britain Women's National Team dropped an 82-63 decision to Lithuania in their second EuroBasket qualifier at the Welsh Institute of Sport today.
Leedham converted 10-of-11 free-throw attempts to go with a 2-for-6 effort from the field (0-for-3 from three-point range) in scoring her 14 points to go with three rebounds, four assists and a steal in 24 minutes of play. Leedham was held to just two first half points for the second-straight game, but foul trouble limited her to just six minutes in the stanza.
The game was tied 15-15 with 2:32 to play in the first quarter, when Lithuania began to pull away, using a 12-2 run to take a 27-17 lead into the second quarter. The two teams were even in the second quarter, with Lithuania carrying its ten-point edge into the intermission, but a 17-2 third-quarter run put the visitors in firm control. Great Britain earned some consolation by winning the fourth quarter, 16-13, behind eight points from Leedham.
Great Britain (0-2) seeks its first EuroBasket victory on Saturday when it faces Germany (0-2) in Saarlouis, Germany, at 1 p.m. (EDT). Germany was handily beaten by Ukraine, 93-39, in today's other Group A qualifier. The two countries currently sit fourth and fifth in the Group A standings with two points each, while Ukraine (2-1) and Lithuania (2-1) lead the group with five points each. Israel (2-0) rounds out the group with four points for third place. The top two teams in each of the four groups qualify for next summer's finals in Latvia. The best two third place teams also advance, with the remaining sides entering an additional qualifying tournament for the Championship next summer.
Leedham is keeping a weekly journal of her summer experiences with the Great Britain Women's National Team for Franklin Pierce's athletics website.
Click here to access the journal
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.
