 Lindsay Whorton |
Drake women’s basketball player Lindsay Whorton from Independence, Mo. is among the nation’s top-30 senior female college basketball players named as an official candidate for the 2007-08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Whorton, an English and education double major, holds a 4.0 grade-point average.
In addition, she recently was named as a Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholor-Athlete of the Week honoring her performance from Dec. 24-30. The Valley’s Scholar-Athlete program is in its ninth year of existence, and is sponsored by Prairie Farms, Roberts and Hiland Dairies. On a weekly basis, the Conference honors its student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom.
Similarly, the Lowe’s senior CLASS award recognizes performance in the classroom and sports. The award, which is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year in eight sports, focuses on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will award the winners with trophies during the respective men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four weekends.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS), the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation’s premier tribute for college seniors.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will
select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award later this month. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male and female recipients.
Drake’s women’s basketball team is off to a strong start this season. On Sunday, Jan. 6, senior Jill Martin led a balanced Drake scoring attack to lead the Bulldogs to their first 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference start since the 2002-03 campaign, with an 83-46 triumph over Wichita State at the Drake Knapp Center.
The victory was the fourth straight and seventh in the last eight games for the Bulldogs, who improved to 9-4 overall, including 2-0 in the MVC. The Shockers fell to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in league play, following the loss.
“It was a great defensive effort by our team this afternoon,” said Drake head coach Amy Stephens. “I thought our guards really disrupted Wichita State offensively today and I’m really please with how we played, especially on the boards.”
A rematch of the 2007 MVC Tournament title game awaits the Bulldogs next as Drake travels to Creighton to battle the Bluejays on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2:05 p.m. Both teams enter the contest with identical 9-4 overall and 2-0 league marks.