Kevi Luper Earns All-American Accolades

Oral Roberts freshman guard Kevi Luper was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday. Luper becomes the fourth All-American at ORU and the first Associated Press selection.

Luper is one of 46 NCAA Division I players to earn the honor, and one of only five freshmen to be named to the AP All-American team. Luper joins Vivian Herron (1986), Kisa Bradley (1996) and Krista Ragan (2002) as the only Golden Eagles to receive All-America honors. 

Luper finished the season ranked sixth nationally in scoring (24.4 ppg) and first in steals (4.5 spg), while earning Summit League Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Luper had arguably the best season in Golden Eagle history, as the Adair, Okla., native shattered 14 single-season school and league records and tied or set six single-game marks during her freshman year.

Luper became the all-time leading scorer for a single season in Summit League history by scoring her 660th point at UMKC on Feb. 27. Luper also set single-season Summit League marks in made field goals (260), field goal attempts (563), made free-throws (194), free-throw attempts (235) and points per game (24.4). Luper’s 194 made free-throws are also an ORU record. Luper became ORU’s all-time single-season steals leader by swiping 10 against Centenary on Feb. 20, and finished the season with a total of 140.

Luper scored 44 points in her third collegiate game against La Salle on Nov. 20 for the most points scored in a single game in Summit League history. Luper knocked down 19 field goals in the contest, which was also a league record and tied the all-time ORU mark.  Luper grabbed 12 steals against Southern Utah on Dec. 5, setting a new ORU record and tying for the most steals in a Summit League contest, while tying the school record with 16 made free-throws against IUPUI on Feb. 13.

Luper collected a conference-record seven Summit League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week awards, and began her collegiate career by claiming four-straight awards, which was also a league record.

2010 Associated Press All-American Teams

First Team
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Tina Charles, Connecticut, Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska, Monica Wright, Virginia, Jantel Lavender, Ohio State.

Second Team
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, Nnemka Ogwumike, Stanford, Jayne Appel, Stanford, Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee State, Brittney Griner, Baylor.

Third Team
Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma, Jasmine Thomas, Duke, Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, Elena Delle Donne, Delaware, Amber Harris, Xavier.

Honorable Mention
Danielle Adams, Texas A&M; Kachine Alexander, Iowa; Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee; Alyssa DeHaan, Michigan State; Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame; Dawn Evans, James Madison; Rachele Fitz, Marist; Tyra Grant, Penn State; Alexis Gray-Lawson, California; Kalana Greene, Connecticut; Allison Hightower, LSU; Alison Lacey, Iowa State; Judie Lomax, Columbia, Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts; Gabriela Marginiean, Drexel; Nicole Michael, Syracuse; Jacinta Monroe, Florida State; Kayla Pedersen, Stanford; Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier; Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State; Chastity Reed, Arkansas-Little Rock; Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown; Lindsey Schraeder, Notre Dame; Tanisha Smith, Texas A&M; Da’shena Stevenson, St. John’s; Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee; Helena Sverrisdottir, TCU; Bianca Thomas, Mississippi; Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga; Courtney Ward, Florida State; Kaylee Whipple, Utah.