Labette County High School STANDOUT NAMED
GATORADE Kansas GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (March 12, 2008) — In its third decade of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced Kendra Frazier of Labette County High School as its 2007-08 Gatorade Kansas Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Kendra is the first Gatorade Kansas Girls Basketball Player of the Year chosen from Labette County 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 Frazier as Kansas’ best high school girls basketball player. Frazier is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March.

The senior center led the Grizzlies to a 21-3 record and the Class 4A quarterfinals, averaging a state-best 24.9 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. The 6-foot-4 Frazier set a school single-game record with 44 points in a victory over eventual state quarterfinalist Fort Scott, grabbing 20 rebounds and recording a double-double—14 points and 10 rebounds—in the fourth quarter alone. As a junior she was named Second Team All-State by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, the Topeka Capital Journal and the Wichita Eagle.

Frazier has maintained a weighted 4.15 GPA in the classroom, first in her graduating class. An enthusiastic member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Frazier also donates her time as a mentor through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. She volunteers with the Special Olympics and was the All-Kansas Spelling Bee champion at age 14.

“She runs the floor very well for her size, works hard on the boards and she’s very agile on the court,” said Labette County Head Coach Kristi Snider. “She’s always been a good scorer, but she’s stepped it up this year—there are times when she can’t be stopped.”

Frazier has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Missouri 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. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Frazier joins recent Gatorade Kansas Girls Basketball Players of the Year Morgan Boyd (2006-07, Olathe East), Ashley Sweat (2005-06, McPherson), and Shalee Lehning (2004-05, Sublette) among the state’s list of former award winners.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.