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Williams Named Finalist for Wade Trophy
ATLANTA, Ga. – Blue Devil senior Elizabeth Williams was selected one of 12 finalists for The Wade Trophy Thursday, which was released by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Wade Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding NCAA Division I women’s basketball player.
The candidates were selected by a vote of committee members consisting of leading basketball coaches, journalists and administrators. The committee will select the winner of The Wade Trophy from among these 12 finalists who also are named to the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team when it is chosen in April. The winner will be announced during the WBCA Awards Show, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. ET Monday, April 6, in the Grand Ballroom at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. The event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four®.
A senior from Virginia Beach, Va., Williams is averaging 14.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.1 blocks per contest heading into this weekend’s NCAA regional semifinals. She has posted 10 double-doubles on the season and scored 20 or more points five times. Williams leads the ACC and is tied for 13th nationally with her 3.1 blocks per game average, and sits just nine swats shy of setting the ACC record for career blocks. Her 426 career blocks rank her ninth in the NCAA record book.
Other finalists were Brittany Boyd (California), Nina Davis (Baylor), Reshanda Gray (California), Dearica Hamby (Wake Forest), Brittany Hrynko (DePaul), Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame), Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (UConn), Breanna Stewart (UConn), Courtney Williams (South Florida) and Amanda Zahui B. (Minnesota).
A three-time Associated Press All-America selection, Williams was recently named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in her career. She also joined former Blue Devil Alana Beard as the only four-time All-ACC First Team selections in conference history. Williams received espnW Second Team All-America and is one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
The Wade Trophy, now in its 38th year, is named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade. This most esteemed award, regarded as “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball”, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball.
The 6-3 center is the eighth Blue Devil in school history to be named a finalist for the Wade Trophy – Alison Bales (2007), Alana Beard (2003, 2004), Chante Black (2008), Monique Currie (2005, 2006), Lindsey Harding (2007), Iciss Tillis (2003) and Jasmine Thomas (2010). Beard won the State Farm Wade Trophy in 2004 as a senior.
Williams and the 16th-ranked Blue Devils will head to Spokane, Washington later this week to face fourth-ranked Maryland in the NCAA Sweet 16. The teams will square off Saturday, March 28 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight.
#GoDuke
The candidates were selected by a vote of committee members consisting of leading basketball coaches, journalists and administrators. The committee will select the winner of The Wade Trophy from among these 12 finalists who also are named to the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team when it is chosen in April. The winner will be announced during the WBCA Awards Show, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. ET Monday, April 6, in the Grand Ballroom at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. The event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four®.
A senior from Virginia Beach, Va., Williams is averaging 14.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.1 blocks per contest heading into this weekend’s NCAA regional semifinals. She has posted 10 double-doubles on the season and scored 20 or more points five times. Williams leads the ACC and is tied for 13th nationally with her 3.1 blocks per game average, and sits just nine swats shy of setting the ACC record for career blocks. Her 426 career blocks rank her ninth in the NCAA record book.
Other finalists were Brittany Boyd (California), Nina Davis (Baylor), Reshanda Gray (California), Dearica Hamby (Wake Forest), Brittany Hrynko (DePaul), Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame), Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (UConn), Breanna Stewart (UConn), Courtney Williams (South Florida) and Amanda Zahui B. (Minnesota).
A three-time Associated Press All-America selection, Williams was recently named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in her career. She also joined former Blue Devil Alana Beard as the only four-time All-ACC First Team selections in conference history. Williams received espnW Second Team All-America and is one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
The Wade Trophy, now in its 38th year, is named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade. This most esteemed award, regarded as “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball”, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball.
The 6-3 center is the eighth Blue Devil in school history to be named a finalist for the Wade Trophy – Alison Bales (2007), Alana Beard (2003, 2004), Chante Black (2008), Monique Currie (2005, 2006), Lindsey Harding (2007), Iciss Tillis (2003) and Jasmine Thomas (2010). Beard won the State Farm Wade Trophy in 2004 as a senior.
Williams and the 16th-ranked Blue Devils will head to Spokane, Washington later this week to face fourth-ranked Maryland in the NCAA Sweet 16. The teams will square off Saturday, March 28 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight.
#GoDuke
