Gardner Collects Preseason All-Big 12 Honor
| Gardner’s Career Accolades |
| 2014-15 Preseason All-Big 12 |
| 2013-14 WBCA All-Region |
| 2013-14 All-Big 12 First Team |
| espnW Player of the Week (Jan. 20) |
| Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 20) |
| Big 12 Player of the Week (Dec. 16) |
IRVING, Texas – After ending 2013-14 with various postseason awards, Kansas senior forward Chelsea Gardner is kicking off the upcoming season the same way adding to her list of accolades. The DeSoto, Texas, native was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, as voted on by the conference head coaches, Wednesday morning.
It is the first preseason conference award for Gardner, who capped off a stellar junior campaign with All-Big 12 First Team honors and a nod to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region team. Gardner is 20 points away from joining the 1,000-point club and will become the 27th Jayhawk to score 1,000 or more points in Kansas women’s basketball history.
Last season, Gardner started 31 games and led the squad in scoring (17.1 points per game), rebounds (8.4 rebounds per game) and blocked shots (1.8 blocks per game). Her 17.1 points per game was the fourth-best average among the league, while her 8.4 rebounds per game was also the fourth-best average in the conference.
During 2013-14, Gardner recorded a Big 12-best 13 double-doubles, which is the most for a Jayhawk since Shyra Holden collected 14 in 1978-79. She scored in double figures in 29 of KU’s 32 games, including the final 17 of the year. Gardner shot 56.1 percent from the field, the second-best percentage in the conference and 20th-best mark in the country.
Gardner’s preseason honor is the first for a Jayhawk since Angel Goodrich and Carolyn Davis were recognized prior to the 2012-13 season, which ended at the NCAA Sweet 16.
Joining Gardner on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team are Bria Holmes (West Virginia), Nina Davis (Baylor), Zahna Medley (TCU) and Nneka Enemkpali (Texas). Holmes was named the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, Peyton Little (Oklahoma) was named Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Ariel Atkins (Texas) was named Preseason Freshman of the Year.
Gardner is among four returning KU starters and seven letterwinners from last season’s roster. Kansas welcomes five fresh faces to the program and unofficially open the season on Nov. 2 with an exhibition contest against Fort Hays State at 2 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse.
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