Top Women Collegiate Point Guards in the Nation Named to Watch List
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the watch list of candidates for 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. Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame became the host of the Nancy Lieberman Award last season after the Rotary Club of Detroit managed it for several years.
"Nancy Lieberman exhibited such passion and dedication for the game of basketball. The women on this watch list show many of the same attributes,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “This award is our way of recognizing some truly extraordinary point guards in women’s college basketball.
The Selection Committee for the Nancy Lieberman Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. The list will be narrowed down to fifteen and then a final five by mid-March. The Lieberman Award winner will be announced during the WBCA Award Show in Tampa, Florida at the Women’s Final Four.
"It's an honor to have my name associated with this award and some of the best point guards and female athletes at the college level,” Lieberman said. “Whoever walks away with the accolade at the end of the season will be in tremendous company! 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.
2015 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List
Niya Johnson, Baylor University
Brittany Boyd, University of California
Caitlin Ingle, Drake University
April Robinson, Duquesne University
Damika Martinez, Iona College
Samantha Logic, University of Iowa
Nikki Moody, Iowa State University
Angela Mickens, James Madison University
Makayla Epps, University of Kentucky
Lexie Brown, University of Maryland
Almesha Jones, Morehead State
Rachel Therlot, University of Nebraska
Ashley Deary, Northwestern University
Lindsay Allen, University of Notre Dame
Ameryst Alston, Ohio State University
Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State University
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State University
Brianna Kiesel, University of Pittsburgh
Blake Dietrick, Princeton University
Brittany Crain, University of California, Riverside
Syessense Davis, Rutgers University
Fantasia Hilliard, Sacramento State University
Ke-Keidre Simmons, Seton Hall University
Natasha Cloud, Saint Joseph’s University
Amber Orrange, Stanford University
Jordan Jones, Texas A&M University
Moriah Jefferson, University of Connecticut
Jasmine Nwajel, Wagner College
Kelsey Plum, University of Washington
Tia Presley, Washington State University
Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State University
*This list is fluid – players can play their way onto and off of the Watch List and the Final 15*
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.
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