Freshman Whitney Creech has been named one of 10 finalists for the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year as announced by the newspaper Tuesday afternoon, earning the honor after one of the finest high school careers in Kentucky’s storied history.
Creech, who starred at Jenkins High School, broke Kentucky’s all-time scoring record with 5,527 points in her high school career, outscoring every other male or female to ever play prep basketball in the state. In addition to her state record, Creech also made her mark nationally, leading all high school scorers in the country in scoring in both her junior and senior seasons.
Named the 2016 Kentucky Associated Press Co-Player of the Year as well as the Kentucky Hall of Fame Athlete of the Year, Creech averaged 42 points per game as a junior before upping that number to 50.3 points per outing as a senior. During her senior season, Creech scored 50 or more points 17 times in 33 opportunities, including a career-best 71 points in a 90-87 overtime victory over Paintsville on Feb. 2, 2016; that 71-point game was the most by an individual in a Kentucky high school contest since the 1987 season.
Creech helped Jenkins to near-unprecedented success, leading the Lady Cavaliers on one of the deepest postseason runs in school history by reaching the 14th Region final as a senior. For her efforts, Creech was also named the 14th Region Player of the Year.
Since arriving at WKU, Creech has provided an offensive spark off the bench, averaging 4.9 points per game across 11.7 minutes. The freshman has hit double digits three times, including a career-best 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting against College of Charleston on Dec. 18. Creech also approached triple-double territory against Lipscomb on Dec. 15, tallying 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a career-high 32 minutes of playing time.
Following that strong week, Creech became WKU’s first C-USA Freshman of the Week winner since Tashia Brown captured the award on March 2, 2015.
The 10 Kentucky Sports Figure of the Year finalists are set to be announced in alphabetical order daily leading up to the Bluegrass Sports Awards banquet next Wednesday, Feb. 1. Creech joins 2016 Miss Basketball Erin Boley and former WKU head football coach Jeff Brohm as finalists who have already been announced.
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Currie P. McFayden
WKU Associate Director of Media Relations