Kate Lehman named to All-America First Team by Daktronics/Division II CCA

Fort Hays State’s Kate Lehman was named to the Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-America First Team on Monday (Mar. 23). Lehman is the second player in FHSU women’s history to earn All-America honors in back-to-back seasons, joining only Annette Wiles, but is the first-ever All-America First Team selection at the NCAA Division II level for Fort Hays State.

A WBCA and Division II Bulletin All-America Honorable Mention selection in 2013-14, Lehman continued her rise to prominence in 2014-15. She is one of just five All-America First Team selections by Daktronics. She joins Shareta Brown of Wayne State (Mich.), Amy Philamlee of Union, Lindsay Stamp of Indiana (Pa.) and Morgan Pullins of St. Mary’s (Texas) as first-team selections this year.

Brown was named the National Player of the Year as she averaged 22.0 points and 14.7 rebounds per game, while shooting a Division II-best 64.9 percent from the field for the season. Lehman finished the year at 19.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.1 blocked shots per game and became the first player ever in Division II history to reach at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 blocked shots in a career. Philamlee is the nation’s top scorer at 24.7 points per game, but also ranks second in the country in assists per game at 7.9. Stamp averaged 19.6 points per game and Pullins averaged a double-double of 20.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

Lehman helped FHSU reach new heights in its NCAA Division II history in 2014-15, helping the Tigers to a record of 30-4 and their first-ever MIAA Regular Season Championship. It was the first-ever 30-win season at the NCAA level for FHSU and it extended a run of four straight seasons in which the program has churned out at least 20 wins, which spanned Lehman’s four years at FHSU. She helped the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament wins, reaching the Sweet 16 (Central Regional Final).

Lehman adds this to the list of post-season honors she has received this year. Below are the honors she has already collected.

-Daktronics/Division II Commissioner’s Association Central Region Most Outstanding Player
-Daktronics/Division II Commissioner’s Association All-Central Region First Team
-MIAA Player of the Year
-MIAA Defensive Player of the Year (3^rd straight year)
-All-MIAA First Team (3^rd straight year)
-MIAA All-Defensive Team (3^rd straight year)

Lehman finished 2014-15 with 655 points, 337 rebounds, and 141 blocked shots, while shooting 57.8 percent from the field.

At the MIAA Tournament in early March, Lehman became the first women’s basketball player in Division II history to reach at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 blocked shots in a career. But the point and rebound marks didn’t just scrape by. She nearly had 2,000 career points, finishing with 1,917, and pulled down 1,109 career rebounds. She recorded 515 career blocks (second most in NCAA Division II history) and is now the school record holder in career rebounds and blocked shots. She finished second all-time in scoring. She finished fourth all-time at any level of NCAA (Division I, II, or III) in blocked shots.

Lehman finished with 55 double-doubles and three triple-doubles in her career at FHSU. Her 167 free-throws made and 256 free-throw attempts in 2014-15 also set new single-season school records.