WBB's Johnson on Lieberman Award Watch List
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Niya Johnson has been named to the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today. Thirty student-athletes comprise the watch list.
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.
The award's selection committee is comprised 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 to the 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.
Johnson leads the nation in assists with 8.6 per game and ranks No. 4 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.6). She recently surpassed 500 career assists and ranks No. 2 on Baylor's career chart with 525, behind last year's Lieberman Award winner, Odyssey Sims. In addition, the Gainesville, Fla., native averages 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds a game.
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).
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
