Kirby Burkholder Explained

Kirby Burkholder
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Nationality:American
College:James Madison (2010–2014)
Highlights:
  • CAA Player of the Year (2014)
  • First-team All-CAA(2013, 2014)

Kirby Burkholder is a professional basketball player. She is a 6' guard. In college, she played Division 1 NCAA basketball for James Madison University (JMU Dukes) as one of the best shooting and rebounding guards in the nation, winning numerous awards, including Conference Player of the Year. She (2014) signed contracts with both the Washington Mystics and the Azzurra Orvieto of the Italian A1 League.

Playing as a guard for Orvieto, through the first 20 rounds of the 2014-15 season, she has led her team in points and rebounds.

College career

Kirby Burkholder, during the 2013-14 NCAA Women's Basketball season, finished among the top 7 guards in the nation for the average number of rebounds a game (she grabbed 303 in her Senior season),[1] and among the top 100 players (including centers and forwards) in the nation with 8.7 Rebounds per game. She finished 32nd in Free Throw Percentage in NCAA Women's D1 Basketball.[2] [3] She averaged 19.1 points per game during her 2013-14 senior campaign[4] and led her team in steals.[2]

In the 2014 NCAA women's basketball tournament, Kirby Burkholder scored 28 points and secured 18 rebounds against top 35 rebounding[5] team Gonzaga[6] as JMU beat Gonzaga and advanced in the 2014 NCAA women's basketball tournament.[6] Kirby scored 20 points and got 10 rebounds against Texas A&M.<ref>Web site: James Madison vs. Texas A&M - Box Score - March 25, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.

During the regular season of her senior year in the 2013-14 season, Kirby scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds vs Virginia Cavaliers,[7] she scored 33 points against a Delaware team who had previously won 44 CAA Conference games in a row[8] and she scored 20 points and got 2 steals vs UCLA.[9] In 2014 Conference tournament play, while competing against Drexel, Kirby earned a double-double which included 22 rebounds and 3 steals.[10] Her 22 rebounds against Drexel was a Conference "Tournament Record."[11]

In 2014, she was named the Conference Player of the Year for the Colonial Athletic Association and was named the NCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year for the state of Virginia by the Richmond Times Dispatch, a Virginia Newspaper.[12] [13] She was also named the "2014 CAA women's basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year."[14] [15]

James Madison statistics

Source[16]

YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2010-11James Madison243152.450.063.61.80.30.30.11.3
2011-12James Madison3742536.231.784.06.92.21.80.511.5
2012-13James Madison3653939.234.788.09.11.71.60.415.0
2013-14James Madison3565238.936.189.38.71.91.60.318.6
CareerJames Madison132164738.534.387.07.01.61.40.312.5

Professional career

Kirby Burkholder entered and became a prospect in the 2014 WNBA draft.[17] In April, 2014, Kirby Burkholder "signed with the Washington Mystics."[18] She then "signed a contract to play professionally in the Italian women’s league ... with Azzurra Orvieto of the Italian A1 League based in Orvieto, Italy."[19] [20] [21]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.jmusports.com/fls/14400/stats/wbasketball/2014/teamcume.htm 2013-14 Season Statistics
  2. http://www.wbbstate.com/teams/JMU/player/kirby-burkholder/14 "Kirby Burkholder."
  3. http://www.wbbstate.com/stats/indiv/RPG
  4. Web site: Kirby Burkholder James Madison Dukes College Women's Basketball Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo Sports. 2016-04-15.
  5. Web site: 2014 Women's College Basketball Team Statistics - ESPN. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082602/http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/year/2014/cat/9.. dead. March 4, 2016. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.
  6. Web site: James Madison vs. Gonzaga - Game Recap - March 23, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.
  7. Web site: Virginia vs. James Madison - Box Score - November 8, 2013 - ESPN. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.
  8. Web site: Dukes end Delaware's streak.
  9. Web site: James Madison vs. UCLA - Box Score - November 29, 2013 - ESPN. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.
  10. Web site: Drexel vs. James Madison - Box Score - March 15, 2014 - ESPN. ESPN.com. 2016-04-15.
  11. Web site: DNRonline. www.dnronline.com. 2016-04-15. dead. https://archive.today/20140407012341/http://www.dnronline.com/article/jmu_to_caa_finals. 2014-04-07.
  12. Web site: JMU's Kirby Burkholder, Kenny Brooks claim state honors. March 26, 2014.
  13. Web site: ‘Dramatic’ change carried JMU’s Burkholder to state stardom. VIC DORR JR Richmond. Times-Dispatch. Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  14. Web site: JMU roundup: Burkholder earns CAA honor.
  15. Web site: CAA Names Winter Scholar-Athlete Award Winners. caasports.com.
  16. Web site: NCAA Statistics. web1.ncaa.org. 2016-04-15.
  17. Web site: NBA.com. NBA.com. 2016-04-15.
  18. Web site: Kirby Burkholder Signs with Washington Mystics. www.nbc29.com. 2016-04-15.
  19. Web site: JMU, TA alum Kirby Burkholder signs pro basketball contract in Italy. Augusta Free Press. en-US. 2016-04-15.
  20. Web site: Burkholder Signs Pro Contract with Team in Orvieto, Italy. Release. Press. www.whsv.com. 2016-04-15.
  21. Web site: Burkholder Signs Pro Contract with Team in Orvieto, Italy. James Madison University. 2016-04-15.