Gophers' Banham Named AP First Team All-American

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- University of Minnesota senior guard Rachel Banham was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press on Monday.

Banham will leave the Gophers as the program's all-time leading scorer after breaking Lindsay Whalen's previous record. The Gophers fell just short of the NCAA Tournament this year and had their season end in a second round WNIT loss to South Dakota.

None of the five All-Americans named Monday had a harder road to making the team than Banham, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL suffered in December 2014.

"It means a lot," Banham said. "It's something that I always wanted and had been working towards," the guard said. "I told my coach at the beginning of year I want to be an All-America, and coming off an injury, it means a lot more to me."

She flourished in her return, averaging 27.6 points, including a 60-point effort that matched the NCAA record. That drew the attention of her idol Kobe Bryant, who tweeted about the Gophers playmaker.

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