Rebekah Dahlman Named Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year

CHICAGO (March 8, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Rebekah Dahlman of Braham (Braham, Minn.) as its 2011-12 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Dahlman is the first Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Braham Area High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Dahlman as Minnesota's best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, Dahlman joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners, including Candace Parker (2003-04, 2002-03, & 2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo HS, Calif.), Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill HS, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville HS, N.C.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis HS, Ind.) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-9 junior guard has led the Bombers to a 27-1 record and a berth in the Class AA sectional semifinals against International Falls High, scheduled for March 6. Dahlman averaged 35.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 7.0 steals and 5.2 assists through 28 games. A two-time returning First Team All-State selection as named by the Associated Press, Dahlman was a Nike Nationals Second Team All-Tournament selection as named by ESPNHS this past summer, and she helped Braham capture the Class AA state title as a sophomore.

Also a volleyball and track standout, Dahlman has maintained a 3.90 GPA in the classroom. She has donated her time locally as a youth basketball instructor and as a caregiver to a senior citizen in need.

"Rebekah is an excellent athlete," said Mike Norton, head coach at Ogilvie High. "She is far and away the most gifted basketball player I have seen for a long time. She plays with an intensity that does not allow her or her teammates to fail. She is a winner and makes the rest of the team around her better."

Dahlman will begin her senior year of high school this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Dahlman joins recent Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Players of the Year Rachel Banham (2010-11, Lakeville North High School), Sari Noga (2009-10, Parkers Prairie), Tayler Hill (2008-09 & 2007-08, Minneapolis South), Janessa Wolff (2006 – 07, Park Rapids Area), Krista VandeVenter (2003-04, Osseo Senior), and Liz Podominick (2002-03, Lakeview) among the state's list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.