Feb. 27, 2013

ATLANTA – The UConn women’s basketball team has four Huskies in the top 30 list for 2013 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Wednesday. Stefanie Dolson, Kelly Faris, Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis were selected as top 30 candidates by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performance during this year’s college basketball season. Connecticut’s leads the way with four players, while Baylor, Notre Dame, Duke, Maryland and Penn State each have a pair of players on the list.

In late March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will narrow down the pack to four finalists. The Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year presented by AT&T will be awarded to one female athlete on April 8, 2013, in New Orleans, La.

Mosqueda-Lewis leads the Huskies with 17.1 points per game and averages 6.4 rebounds per contest, while Dolson is second on the squad in scoring and rebounding with 14.0 points per game and 6.4 boards per contest. Dolson currently leads the nation in field goal percentage shooting 60.0 percent per game, while Mosqueda-Lewis is third in the country from behind the arc with a 50.3 percentage. Faris is having an outstanding senior campaign averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and leads the team in assists (4.1 apg) and steals (2.8 spg). Both Mosqueda-Lewis and Faris scored their 1,000th career point on Saturday against Seton Hall.  Hartley is averaging 9.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while she is second on the team with 3.5 assists per contest.

Notable Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year winners include Chamique Holdsclaw, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, and Tina Charles. The Naismith women’s Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to the women’s college basketball player of the year.

Last Name	First Name	Class	Position	School
Bentley	Alex	Senior	G	Penn State
Bone	Kelsey	Junior	C	Texas A&M
Clarendon	Layshia	Senior	G	California
Delle Donne	Elena	Senior	F	Delaware
Diggins	Skylar	Senior	G	Notre Dame
Dolson	Stefanie	Junior	C	Connecticut
Ellenberg	Aaryn	Junior	G	Oklahoma
Evans	Shante	Senior	F	Hofstra
Faris	Kelly	Senior	G	Connecticut
Goodrich	Angel	Senior	G	Kansas
Gray	Chelsea	Junior	G	Duke
Griner	Brittney	Senior	C	Baylor
Hartley	Bria	Junior	G	Connecticut
Hawkins	Tianna	Senior	F	Maryland
Hill	Tayler	Senior	G	Ohio State
Hooper	Jordan	Junior	F	Nebraska
Lucas	Maggie	Junior	G	Penn State
Mathies	A'dia	Senior	G	Kentucky
McBride	Kayla	Junior	G	Notre Dame
Moore	Lindsey	Senior	G	Nebraska
Mosqueda-Lewis	Kaleena	Sophomore	F	Connecticut
Ogwumike	Chiney	Junior	F	Stanford
Penn	Karisma	Senior	F	Illinois
Rasheed	Niveen	Senior	F	Princeton
Rodgers	Sugar	Senior	G	Georgetown
Rowe	Ebony	Junior	F	Middle Tennessee State
Simmons	Meighan	Junior	G	Tennessee
Sims	Odyssey	Junior	G	Baylor
Thomas	Alyssa	Junior	F	Maryland
Williams	Elizabeth	Sophomore	C	Duke

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.

The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.