Fan Voting to Open Friday, March 2 on HoophallAwards.com
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today the five finalists for the 2018 Katrina McClain Award. Named after the two-time All-American, 1987 National Player of the Year and 2012 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, the annual award in its inaugural year recognizes the top power forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
A national committee of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers narrowed the original award watch list of 20 players to 10 candidates and now just five finalists. This month, the five finalists will be presented to Ms. McClain-Pittman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2018 Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Fans are encouraged to visit www.HoophallAwards.com to cast their votes March 2-23.
“From our initial watch list of twenty players to determining our five finalists, I have thoroughly enjoyed this process and being a part of this award in its inaugural year,” said Katrina McClain-Pittman. “The five players selected have been extraordinary so far this season and I know they will have more to show as we head into the postseason.”
The five finalists for the 2018 Katrina McClain Award are Lauren Cox (Baylor), Napheesa Collier (Connecticut), Caliya Robinson (Georgia), Myisha Hines-Allen (Louisville), and Ruthy Hebard (Oregon).
The winner of the 2018 Katrina McClain Power Forward Award will be announced during ESPN2’s telecast of the national semifinal games in the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, March 30. The award will then be presented to the student-athlete on Saturday, March 31 at a new awards reception presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame and the WBCA and held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Each award will be presented by its respective Hall of Famer making this brunch a star-studded event.
Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, as well as the Wade Trophy, the sport’s oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award which is presented annually by the WBCA’s community of coaches to the best player in college women’s basketball.
For more information on the 2018 Katrina McClain Award, visit www.hoophallawards.com.
About Katrina McClain-Pittman: Katrina McClain-Pittman was a prolific rebounder and terrific scorer in a career that spanned three Olympic Games and three continents. Before she earned her stripes for USA Basketball, McClain-Pittman starred at the University of Georgia where she was a two-time Kodak All-American and the WBCA National Player of the Year her senior season. She left Georgia as the school's second all-time leading scorer and rebounder, averaging a double-double her final two seasons in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs reached the 1985 NCAA Final Four and national championship game with McClain-Pittman controlling the paint and Teresa Edwards running the offense. The two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year finished her international career with two Olympic gold medals and one bronze, three FIBA World Championships medals, and five medals at the Goodwill Games, Pan Am Games, and World University Games. In all, McClain-Pittman appeared on eleven USA Basketball rosters becoming one of the most decorated athletes in USA Basketball history. She has been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the Georgia State Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.
For more information:
Visit us online: www.hoophallawards.com
… on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BHOF
… on Twitter/Instagram: @hoophall #McClainAward
… or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA
About the WBCA: Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport.
For more information:
Visit us online: www.WBCA.org
… on Facebook: www/facebook.com/WBCA1981/
… on Twitter/Instagram: @wbca1981
… or call 770-279-8027