DELLE DONNE, EVANS NAMED TO 2011-12 WOODEN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MIDSEASON TOP 20
Los Angeles (January 27, 2012)- The
John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 was announced today by The Los Angeles
Athletic Club on the nationally recognized "Women's Sports Central" podcast,
hosted by women's basketball experts Brenda VanLengen and Mechelle
Voepel. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory
Board, the list is made up of 20 student-athletes who, based on their
performances in November, December, and January, are the frontrunners for
college basketball's most prestigious honor. The men's midseason list was
announced last week.
Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike and Baylor junior Brittney Griner were Wooden
Award All Americans in 2011, with Ogwumike also garnering the honor in 2010,
and they continue to put up impressive numbers in 2012. Ogwumike leads
the Pac-12 in scoring (22.9 ppg, No. 5 nationally as of 1/21/12) and rebounding
(11.2 rpg, No. 8 nationally), guiding her team to a Top 5 national ranking.
Griner is averaging 22.7 points per game (No. 8 nationally) for the No.
1-ranked Bears, and also ranks No. 19 in rebounding (10.3) and No. 1 in blocked
shots (5.1). The nation's current top scorer, Delaware's Elena Delle Donne
(27.9 ppg), also made the midseason list, with conference-mate Shante Evans from Hofstra.
All six underclassmen named to the Wooden Award ballot in 2011 return to the
midseason Top 20 in 2012. In addition to Griner and Nneka Ogwumike, these
players include Georgetown's Sugar Rodgers, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins,
Shekinna Stricklen of Tennessee, and Shenise Johnson of Miami. Ohio State's
Samantha Prahalis was on the ballot in 2010, along with Stricklen, Nneka
Ogwumike and Delle Donne.
In terms of conference representation, the Big East leads the way
with five Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 selections,
followed by the ACC with four; the SEC with three; and the Big 12, Big 10,
Pac-12 and CAA each with two. Five schools had two players
chosen: Notre Dame (Diggins and Natalie Novosel); Tennessee (Stricklen and
Glory Johnson); Stanford (Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike-the first pair of
sisters ever named to the midseason list); Baylor (Griner and Odyssey Sims) and
Connecticut (Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis).
Mosqueda-Lewis and Elizabeth Williams of Duke were the only freshmen chosen.
The annual Wooden Award Gala will take place on Friday,
April 6, 2012, and will honor winners, All Americans and the Legends of
Coaching winner Geno Auriemma of Connecticut.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976 and named after the Hall of Fame player,
coach and teacher, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual
honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player
at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university
that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum
cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird
('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya
Moore of Connecticut ('09 and '11). BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Moore were the
Wooden Award winners in 2011.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a
million dollars to universities' general scholarship fund in the names of the
All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000
underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award's
name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special
Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special
Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long
tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All
Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John
R. Wooden Award Gala.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging
on to www.WoodenAward.com. For more information on
the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5231
or email at woodenaward@laac.net.
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2011-12
John R. Wooden Award Women's Midseason Top 20 List
|
Name
|
|
Ht.
|
Yr.
|
Pos.
|
University
|
Conference
|
|
Alex
|
Bentley
|
5-7
|
Jr.
|
G
|
Penn
State
|
Big Ten
|
|
Elena
|
Delle
Donne
|
6-5
|
Jr.
|
F/G
|
Delaware
|
CAA
|
|
Skylar
|
Diggins
|
5-9
|
Jr.
|
G
|
Notre
Dame
|
Big East
|
|
Shante
|
Evans
|
6-0
|
Jr.
|
F
|
Hofstra
|
CAA
|
|
Brittney
|
Griner*
|
6-8
|
Jr.
|
C
|
Baylor
|
Big 12
|
|
Bria
|
Hartley
|
5-7
|
So.
|
G
|
Connecticut
|
Big East
|
|
Glory
|
Johnson
|
6-3
|
GS
|
F
|
Tennessee
|
SEC
|
|
Shenise
|
Johnson
|
5-11
|
Sr.
|
G
|
Miami
|
ACC
|
|
A'dia
|
Mathies
|
5-9
|
Jr.
|
G
|
Kentucky
|
SEC
|
|
Kaleena
|
Mosqueda-Lewis
|
6-0
|
Fr.
|
F
|
Connecticut
|
Big East
|
|
Natalie
|
Novosel
|
5-11
|
Sr.
|
G
|
Notre
Dame
|
Big East
|
|
Chiney
|
Ogwumike
|
6-3
|
So.
|
F
|
Stanford
|
Pac-12
|
|
Nneka
|
Ogwumike*
|
6-2
|
Sr.
|
F
|
Stanford
|
Pac-12
|
|
Samantha
|
Prahalis
|
5-7
|
Sr.
|
G
|
Ohio
State
|
Big Ten
|
|
Sugar
|
Rodgers
|
5-11
|
Jr.
|
G
|
Georgetown
|
Big East
|
|
Odyssey
|
Sims
|
5-9
|
So.
|
G
|
Baylor
|
Big 12
|
|
Shekinna
|
Stricklen
|
6-2
|
Sr.
|
G/F
|
Tennessee
|
SEC
|
|
Alyssa
|
Thomas
|
6-2
|
So.
|
F
|
Maryland
|
ACC
|
|
Elizabeth
|
Williams
|
6-3
|
Fr.
|
C
|
Duke
|
ACC
|
|
Riquna
|
Williams
|
5-7
|
Sr.
|
G
|
Miami
|
ACC
|