Friday, February 06, 2015

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.   

 

For more information: 
Visit us on the web: www.hoophall.com 
… on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BHOF 
… on Twitter: @hoophall 
… or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA