After Washington freshman G Kelsey Plum’s performance in an upset against No. 3 Stanford on Sunday and consistency this season, I wondered whether the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association would make her part of the 10 players added by the WBCA on Monday to the “Wade Watch” list. UW junior Jazmine Davis was a preseason nod but didn’t advance in the latest cut to determine the top women’s basketball player in the country.
Plum wasn’t part of the additions. In fact, none of the additions were from a school out West. But Plum’s performance resonated with national media and Cardinal Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer.
“Kelsey Plum had an outstanding game and I can’t believe there’s a better freshman in the country,” VanDerveer said of Plum, who began her post-prep career by winning gold with USA Basketball’s FIBA U-19 team last summer.
Plum, a crafty 5-foot-9 lefty, is the leading scorer among freshmen in the country, averaging 19.7 points. She’s close to becoming UW’s top freshman leading scorer in program history. Loree Payne owns the record. She averaged 17.4 points as a freshman in 1999-00. Payne totaled 521 points that season. Plum is at 454 with six Pac-12 games remaining on the regular-season schedule.
Here are the additions to the “Wade Watch” list from the WBCA:
10 players added to list of ‘Wade Watch’ hopefuls
ATLANTA (Feb. 10, 2014) – The Wade Trophy Committee has added 10 additional student-athletes to the 2014 “Wade Watch” list, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), on behalf of the Wade Trophy Coalition, announced today.
Joining the preseason list of 25 Wade Watch hopefuls are Tiffany Bias of Oklahoma State, Hallie Christofferson of Iowa State, Christina Foggie of Vanderbilt, Markeisha Gatling of N.C. State, Dearica Hamby of Wake Forest, Natasha Howard of Florida State, Alexis Jones of Duke, Tricia Liston of Duke, Jewell Loyd of Notre Dame, and Tiffany Mitchell of South Carolina.
The Wade Trophy Coalition presents The Wade Trophy to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA® Division I women’s basketball player each year – one who not only excels athletically but also serves as a positive role model both on and off the court. The acclaimed Wade Watch list, from which The Wade Trophy recipient is chosen, consists of players selected on the basis of game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.
The Wade Watch list will be trimmed to 12 finalists in mid-March. The Wade Trophy Coalition will officially announce The Wade Trophy winner at the fourth annual WBCA Awards Show on Monday, April 7, which is part of the 2014 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four®, in Nashville.
Here is the complete 2014 State Farm Wade Watch list:
Name
Institution
Position
Year
Natalie Achonwa
Notre Dame
Forward
Senior
Rachel Banham
Minnesota
Guard
Junior
Tiffany Bias
Oklahoma State
Guard
Senior
Brittany Boyd
California
Guard
Junior
Gennifer Brandon
California
Forward
Senior
Hallie Christofferson
Iowa State
Forward
Senior
Jerica Coley
FIU
Guard
Senior
Stefanie Dolson
Connecticut
Center
Senior
Aaryn Ellenberg
Oklahoma
Guard
Senior
Christina Foggie
Vanderbilt
Guard
Senior
Markeisha Gatling
NC State
Center
Senior
Bashaara Graves
Tennessee
Forward
Sophomore
Chelsea Gray
Duke
Guard
Senior
Dearica Hamby
Wake Forest
Forward
Junior
Bria Hartley
Connecticut
Guard
Senior
Jordan Hooper
Nebraska
Forward
Senior
Natasha Howard
Florida State
Forward
Senior
Alexis Jones
Duke
Guard
Sophomore
Tricia Liston
Duke
Guard
Senior
Jewell Loyd
Notre Dame
Guard
Sophomore
Maggie Lucas
Penn State
Guard
Senior
Tyaunna Marshall
Georgia Tech
Guard
Senior
Kayla McBride
Notre Dame
Guard
Senior
Tiffany Mitchell
South Carolina
Guard
Sophomore
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
Connecticut
Forward
Junior
Chiney Oqwumike
Stanford
Forward
Senior
Theresa Plaisance
LSU
Forward
Senior
Ebony Rowe
Middle Tennessee
Forward
Senior
Shoni Schimmel
Louisville
Guard
Senior
Meighan Simmons
Tennessee
Guard
Senior
Odyssey Sims
Baylor
Guard
Senior
DeNesha Stallworth
Kentucky
Forward
Senior
Breanna Stewart
Connecticut
Forward
Sophomore
Alyssa Thomas
Maryland
Forward
Senior
Elizabeth Williams
Duke
Center/Forward
Junior
The Wade Trophy, named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women’s national player of the year award in college basketball. The Wade Trophy Coalition was established in June 2000 when the WBCA partnered with The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS), now known as the Society of Health and Physical Educators, doing business as SHAPE America. For the past 11 years the two have worked together to present The Wade Trophy player of the year award. A committee composed of coaches, administrators and media from across the U.S. selects the winner.
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