BATON ROUGE, La. – Nicholls State University women's basketball player Anna McKendree has been named Louisiana Sports Writers Association Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the organization announced Monday.
McKendree graduated from South Georgia Technical College in 2020 and helped lead the Lady Jets to their best season in the history of the program. During her two-year tenure at South Georgia Tech, the Lady Jets earned back to back Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season titles as well as back to back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA Region XVII tournament wins and NJCAA District J championships. The 2019-2020 team also earned the right to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas prior to the tournament’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
McKendree helped lead the Lady Jets to the college’s best overall record for men’s and women’s team with a 30 – 2 overall record. The Lady Jets were 18 – 0 during her freshman season and 17 – 0 during her sophomore year in the GCAA. The Lady Jets finished her sophomore season ranked 11th in the nation.
As junior guard from Flowery Branch, Georgia, at Nicholls State, McKendree scored a career-high 24 points in the Colonels' thrilling comeback win over McNeese in their regular season finale last Wednesday. The victory secured a winning conference record (9-7) and the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament.
With Nicholls trailing by 11 with two minutes remaining, McKendree accounted for 12 points of the decisive 16-2 run which resulted in a 71-68 win. She started the comeback by making the first of two free throws but collected her own rebound on the miss and hit a 3-pointer. A steal led to a quick 3-ball and following a defensive stop, she hit her third 3-pointer in a matter of 45 seconds to make it a one-point game. Her final two points came at the line with 30 seconds remaining after McNeese went back up by three.
McKendree finished the game 8 of 10 from the field, 5 of 5 from 3-point range and added six rebounds and three assists. It marked her third 20-plus point outing of the season and second since being inserted into the starting lineup five games ago.
“I wish I could coach 10 Anna’s every year,” said South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets head coach James Frey. “She is an awesome player and person. I appreciated her for trusting us for her freshman and sophomore season and I am very excited for her success at Nicholls State.”
UP NEXT
The Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas is set to begin on Wednesday. As the No. 6 seed, the Colonels will play their first game on Thursday, taking on the winner of Wednesday's No. 7 Abilene Christian and No. 10 UIW. Tipoff Thursday is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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