Final 15 Candidates Announced for 2015 Lieberman Award Watch List of Top 30 Women Collegiate Point Guards Narrowed - Monday, February 23 -

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. – The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame announced today the 15 watch list finalists for the 2015 Award. Now in its fifteenth year, the award recognizes the top in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. The original watch list of 30 candidates was narrowed down to the below list of 15 by a national committee.

“These 15 candidates exhibit floor leadership, play-making and ball- handling skills similar to those of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. We are pleased to be recognizing them for their commitment to the game,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

A premier Selection Committee made up of top college basketball personnel including Hall of Famers, media members, head coaches and sports information directors was appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the candidates. The list will be narrowed down to a final five by mid-March with the Lieberman Award winner announced during the WBCA Award Show in Tampa, Florida at the Women’s Final Four.

Previous winners of the include , Baylor (2014), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012- 13), , Gonzaga (2011), , Oklahoma State (2010), , Connecticut (2009), , Maryland (2008), , Duke (2007), , North Carolina (2006), , LSU (2005), , Connecticut (2003-04), and , Connecticut (2000-02).

For more information on the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, log onto www.pointguard.org.

- Continued – 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List Niya Johnson, Baylor University , University of California Damika Martinez, Iona College , University of Iowa Nikki Moody, Iowa State University Angela Mickens, James Madison University Almesha Jones, Morehead State , University of Notre Dame Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State University , Oregon State University Brianna Kiesel, University of Pittsburgh Syessense Davis, Rutgers University , Saint Joseph’s University , University of Connecticut Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State University

About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was invented, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate and high school, for both men and women on the global stage.

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Basketball Hall of Fame Media Contact: Nicole Taylor, Position Sports 480-861-2442 [email protected]