Gatorade® National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

SANTA ANA, Calif., March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 26th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) as its 2010-11 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.  Mosqueda-Lewis was surprised with the news in a varsity girls basketball team meeting by three-time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie, who won Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors in 1989-90.  She is the first California player to earn the trophy since Leslie did 21 years ago.

"When I received the award in 1990, it was such a pivotal moment for me as an athlete.  I'm grateful to be a part of this moment for Kaleena, who is truly a phenomenal student-athlete on and off the court," said Leslie, the WNBA's career leader in scoring and rebounding, who won two league championships as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks.  "Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids."

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 Mosqueda-Lewis as the nation's best high school girls basketball player.  A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Mosqueda-Lewis from nearly 440,000 girls basketball players nationwide. Mosqueda-Lewis is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 5-foot-11 senior guard has led the Monarchs to a 32-1 record and the Division I state semifinals against Canyon Springs, scheduled for March 19.  Mosqueda-Lewis was averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.6 assists per game.  The state's Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the first-ever California girls sophomore to win such honors in 2008-09, Mosqueda-Lewis is both the Naismith National High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year for 2011.  A two-time First Team Parade All-American, she was a member of the USA Basketball Women's U17 National Team that won a world title last summer, and has been selected to play in both the McDonald's All-American Game and the WBCA All-America Game this spring.

Mosqueda-Lewis has maintained a 3.41 GPA in the classroom.  The commissioner of her school's student-government body, she has volunteered locally as an Orange County Head Start mentor as well as on behalf of physically and intellectually challenged athletes.  Mosqueda-Lewis has also donated her time to the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, the Blind Children's Learning Center and the Urban Compass Christmas Outreach initiative to benefit at-risk Los Angeles youth.  In addition, she has served as a season-long afterschool youth coach in association with the Upward Christian Basketball Program, as well as instructing at PAL basketball tournaments and Mater Dei High School youth summer camps.

"Kaleena will be a game-changer at the next level with abilities that she's proven as a prep player," said Dan Olson, Owner and Director of the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.  "By manufacturing her own shot and consistently scoring from the perimeter, along with her leadership qualities, she'll be a superb collegiate player."

Mosqueda-Lewis has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Connecticut this fall. She is the second Mater Dei student in four years to claim Gatorade National Player of the Year recognition, following in the footsteps of 2007 Monarchs quarterback Matt Barkley, now a junior at USC.

"Without question, Kaleena is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls basketball player based on her statistics on the court and the impact her accomplishments have had on Mater Dei's success," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms.  "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader and a student-athlete should be.  She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

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, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.  The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

• WNBA Most Valuable Player Candace Parker
• Kansas City Royals Cy Young award-winner Zach Grienke
• Two-time Beach Volleyball Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh
• Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning

For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

SOURCE Gatorade