March 7, 2008

Shalee Lehning (Kansas State) was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week while Brittany Spears (Colorado) was chosen Rookie of the Week by a media voting panel for games of March 5-6. Lehning  was honored for the second time in her career while Spears was honored for the fourth time this year. This is the final weekly awards for the 2007-08 season.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week

Shalee Lehning, Kansas State, G, 5-9, Jr, Sublette, Kan.

Lehning helped the Wildcats secure the Big 12 title on Wednesday night with a career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds in 39 minutes of action for her third straight double-double in a 61-50 win at Kansas. Over the last four games, Lehning is averaging 20 points on a .643 field goal percentage (27-of-42) and is 25-of-30 (.833) from the free throw line. The 5-9 junior guard is also averaging 10 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. The Big 12 Conference's assist leader (6.38 apg) registered her career-high of 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. This was the highest point output by a Wildcat since Ashley Sweat tallied 31 at Wyoming in the WNIT semifinals on March 28, 2007. Her 17 rebounds are the most since she grabbed her career-high of 20 against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 6, 2005. The three straight double-doubles tie seven other players for sixth in school history for consecutive double-doubles. Lehning is currently the only point guard in the conference to register multiple double-doubles and is tied for fourth with seven double-doubles. Her total of five double-doubles in Big 12 games ranks tied for second. In her career, the Sublette, Kan., native has 12 double-doubles and is now tied for ninth in school history.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week

Brittany Spears, Colorado, F, 6-1, Fr, Pasadena, Calif.

Spears scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists with one block and one steal in CU's 63-47 win over Missouri. Spears' 10 points put her at 401 for the season, the fifth best mark by a freshman in team history. The  6-1 forward continues to lead all Big 12 freshmen in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocks (1.5 bpg), is second in steals (1.8 spg) and free-throw percentage (.857), and fourth in assists (1.8 apg). Her 220 rebounds and 44 blocks rank third on CU's all-time freshman charts while she is tied for fifth in steals with 52.