March 14, 2013

STORRS, Conn. - Junior center Stefanie Dolson and sophomore guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis have each earned a place on the final ballot of the 2013 John R. Wooden Award, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Thursday, March 14.  Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the ballot is made up of 15 student-athletes who have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Hundreds of members of the college basketball media will vote on the Wooden Award Player of the Year and All-America team from Monday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 27, either online or through the mail.

UConn is one of three programs, Baylor, Duke and Maryland are the others, with two players on the final ballot.

Dolson enters the NCAA Tournament second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and leading the Huskies at 7.0 rebounds per contest.  The Port Jervis, N.Y. native was honored as a First Team All-BIG EAST selection and is currently second nationally with a .594 field goal percentage.  Dolson, a member of the 2013 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team, was honored as the BIG EAST Player of the Week twice and the United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week once this year.

Mosqueda-Lewis is UConn's leading scorer at 17.5 points per game and leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at .505.  A unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, she enters the NCAA Tournament four 3-point field goals shy of establishing a new single-season school record. 

About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, 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), Candace Parker ('07 and '08), Kevin Durant ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09 and `11).

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 or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email at woodenaward@laac.net.

 

2012-13 John R. Wooden Award Women's Ballot

Player	Height	Year	Position	School
Kelsey Bone	6-4	Junior	Center	Texas A&M
Elena Delle Donne	6-5	Senior	Guard/Forward	Delaware
Skylar Diggins	5-9	Senior	Guard	Notre Dame
Stefanie Dolson	6-5	Junior	Center	Connecticut
Chelsea Gray	5-11	Junior	Guard	Duke
Brittney Griner	6-8	Senior	Center	Baylor
Tianna Hawkins	6-3	Senior	Forward	Maryland
Maggie Lucas	5-10	Junior	Guard	Penn State
A'dia Mathies	5-9	Senior	Guard	Kentucky
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	6-0	Sophomore	Forward	Connecticut
Chiney Ogwumike	6-3	Junior	Forward	Stanford
Meghan Simmons	5-9	Junior	Guard	Tennessee
Odyssey Sims	5-8	Junior	Guard	Baylor
Alyssa Thomas	6-2	Junior	Forward	Maryland
Elizabeth Williams	6-3	Sophomore	Center	Duke