TAMPA, FL – Yesterday at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Award Show at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Florida, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Moriah Jefferson from the University of Connecticut as the winner of the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award. Now in its fifteenth year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
“Moriah Jefferson has been a incredible asset to the UConn Huskies and we are pleased to honor her with this prestigious award,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Her play mirrors the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman and the many exceptional point guards who have received this award over the years.”
Jefferson, a junior from Glenn Heights, Texas who earned All-America status from the Associated Press and United States Basketball Writers Association earlier this week, became the first Husky since Kelly Faris in 2012-13 to earn the conference's Most Improved Player accolade when she earned the distinction on March 6. The guard has enjoyed a stellar junior campaign, averaging 12.3 points in 28.2 minutes per game. In total, she ranks first on the team in assists (181) and steals (91) and is one of six Huskies shooting over 50.0 percent from the floor (59.5).
“Moriah has come a long way. She has worked really hard to make herself one of the best guards that we have had; and we've had some great ones,” said Geno Auriemma, head coach of the Connecticut women’s basketball team. “Throughout the season, I haven't seen anyone who has played as well for as long as Moriah. People think it's easy being on our team, but it's not when you have all that pressure of all those people who want the ball every time down the floor. That's just another thing she has been able to manage incredibly well. I'm glad she's back next year too!"
The original watch list of 30 candidates was narrowed to 15 and then 5 before Jefferson was selected as the recipient of the award by a premier selection committee made up of top college basketball personnel including Nancy Lieberman and other Hall of Famers, media members, head coaches and sports information directors appointed by the Hall of Fame.
“I am very happy to honor Moriah for her dedication to the game,” Lieberman said. “She is a true point guard who leads her team and makes the right play time and time again. I excited to watch her progress during her senior season and have no doubt she will find success at the next level of the game.”
Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include Odyssey Sims, Baylor (2014), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012-13), Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga (2011), Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State (2010), Renee Montgomery, Connecticut (2009), Kristi Toliver, Maryland (2008), Lindsey Harding, Duke (2007), Ivory Latta, North Carolina (2006), Temeka Johnson, LSU (2005), Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (2003-04), and Sue Bird, Connecticut (2000-02).
For more information on the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, log onto www.pointguard.org.
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