Benson girls basketball player Lelani Carter voted SBLive Nebraska high school athlete of the week (Jan. 23-29)

Benson girls basketball player Lelani Carter was voted SBLive Nebraska High School Athlete of the Week for Jan. 23-29. 

A record 83,500 votes were cast. Carter snagged 45,019 (53.82%) of them. Bridgeport girls basketball player Olivia Loomis-Goltl was second with 37,658 votes (45.02%).

Carter has stepped up as a scorer this season but has been particularly good lately. January 24 in a dominant win over Westview, no one was as dominant as Carter during her third straight game with more than 20 points. Carter scored a career-high 29 points, went 7 for 8 from the free throw line, grabbed seven rebounds and put together a double-double with an eye-popping 12 steals. All three of those figures - points, rebounds and steals - were new career highs. 

Carter has already passed her point totals from each of the past two seasons and jumped to 22nd in the state in scoring average after the win over Westview.