Danielle McCray is Named Big 12 Player of the Week for the Second Straight Week

March 9, 2009

DALLAS, Texas –

Kansas’ Danielle McCray was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week along with Shalee Lehning of Kansas State. Alyssa Fressle of Colorado was selected Freshman of the Week by a media voting panel for games of March 2-8. It is the third time this season and the second consecutive week that McCray has been honored as the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week. McCray is the first player in KU Women’s Basketball history to be named Player of the Week three times in one season.

McCray scored a career-best 35 points in helping the Jayhawks beat No. 5 Baylor last Wednesday. She knocked down 11-of-21 shots from the field, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc. She also connected on 6-of-7 shots from the charity stripe on her way to her third 30-plus point performance of the season. McCray added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in guiding the Jayhawks to their first win over a Top 10 team in eight years.

The junior guard/forward followed that performance with her seventh double-double of the season as she had 27 points and 11 rebounds against Iowa State. McCray also registered three blocks, two assists and a steal. For the week, she averaged 31 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals.

The Jayhawks will begin Big 12 Championship play on Thursday, March 12 in Oklahoma City, Okla. KU, who earned the No. 8 seed, will take on No. 9 seed Nebraska at 1:30 p.m., in the Cox Convention Center. The winner will advance to face top-seeded Oklahoma on Friday at 11 a.m.