Gatorade® National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Brianna Turner

MANVEL, Texas, March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 29^th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, recently announced Brianna Turner of Manvel High School (Manvel, Texas) as its 2013-14 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Turner was surprised with the news at school by Minnesota Lynx forward and WNBA All-Star Maya Moore, who earned the same distinction in 2007.

"I still remember the day when I was honored as the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year and winning the award is one of the most memorable moments in my career," said Moore. "It's such a rare accomplishment, so I was honored to be able to be a part of today's celebration by surprising Brianna with the award."

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

The 6-foot-3 senior wing led the Mavericks to a 38-2 record and the Class 5A state championship this past season. A McDonald's High School All-American Game selection and a WBCA All-American, Turner averaged 20.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.9 blocks and 3.7 steals in just 23 minutes per game. She scored 17 points on only six field goal attempts to go along with 17 rebounds and three blocks in the 58-53, title-clinching victory against Duncanville, capturing Class 5A state championship game Most Valuable Player recognition in the process. She has captured two gold medals competing for Team USA en route to the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship as well as the 2012 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship.

Turner has maintained a 3.71 GPA in the classroom. An active member of Manvel's Friends of Rachel Club, a chapter of the national Rachel's Challenge student-empowerment organization, she has volunteered on behalf of the Houston Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and the RCS Sports back-to-school charity drive. Turner has also donated her time as a mentor to area junior high students.

"Brianna probably has the most versatile skill set of the two or three best players in the country," said Dan Olson of espnW HoopGurlz and the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. "She brings a 6-foot-4 body frame with length along with that incredible versatility. This kid can handle and create havoc in mismatch situations. She's going to be a great college player and is a very articulate, well-spoken girl. She's a real talent."

Turner has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at the University of Notre Dame this fall.

"Brianna embodies everything we look for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient," said Gatorade Vice President, Global Sports Marketing and Science Andrea Fairchild. "In addition to being one of the best high school basketball players in the country, Brianna has excelled in the classroom and been a positive influence in her community. She is a role model for younger student-athletes to look up to and we are excited to see all the things she will accomplish in the future."

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 USA TODAY High School Sports 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:

• Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
• Four-time gold medalist Allyson Felix
• WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
• Kansas City Royals Cy Young award-winner Zach Grienke

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 www.gatorade.com/poy, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

About Gatorade

The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), provides sports performance innovations designed to meet the needs of athletes at all competitive levels and across a broad range of sports. Gatorade Thirst Quencher® is backed by more than 40 years of research and is scientifically formulated and athletically proven to quench thirst, replace fluids and electrolytes, and provide carbohydrate energy to enhance athletic performance. The company's product portfolio is built around the G Series™, a 1-2-3 approach to athlete nutrition and hydration before (Gatorade Prime 01™), during (Gatorade® Perform 02 and G2® Perform 02), and after (Gatorade Recover 03™) training or competition. For more information, please visit www.gatorade.com.        

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales.  Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries.  With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose.  By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About USA TODAY Sports Media Group

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 100 well-known local media brands. It also includes the sports photography wire service USA TODAY Sports Images, USA TODAY High School Sports and the hundreds of sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties such as thebiglead.com and mixed martial arts site MMAjunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE The Gatorade Company