University of Connecticut Athletics
Four Huskies Named to the "Wade Watch" List
11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA, Ga. - Seniors Kia Nurse (Hamilton, Ontario) and Gabby Williams (Sparks, Nev.) and juniors Napheesa Collier (O'Fallon, Missouri) and Katie Lou Samuelson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) were pegged to the "Wade Watch" list of candidates for the 2017 Wade Trophy, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association selection committee Wednesday.
The four, all averaging double-figure point totals, contribute largely to the top-ranked Huskies 6-0 start and +28.0 scoring margin this season.
Nurse, who has started all six games, is boasting 16.2 points per game in 32.8 minutes per contest. The guard is averaging 3.3 assists and 3.2 boards, while tallying five steals and one block defensively. The Hamilton, Ontario native is pacing the team with five double-digit scoring games and two 20-point performances.
The 2017 WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year, Williams, leads the squad with 19 steals while her 8.5 boards per game trail only teammate Azura Stevens. The senior has started all six game thus far for the Huskies and is putting up 12.2 points per game and owns one double-double on the season.
Collier, who is averaging 12.2 points, ranks second on the team in steals and blocks, notching 18 and eight, respectively. The 2017-18 American Preseason Player of the Year is bringing down 7.3 boards while dishing out 20 assists. The forward has collected two double-doubles this season and has led the team in scoring twice this season.
Before sitting out due to a foot injury, Samuelson was recording 16.5 points per game. In 46 minutes played, the junior racked up 33 points, four steals, three assists and one block. Samuelson along with Williams and Collier were tabbed AP Preseason All-Americans in early November.
The Wade Trophy, now in its 41st year, is the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in college women's basketball. It is named in honor of the late, legendary Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, who won three consecutive national championships with the Lady Statesmen. First awarded in 1978 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America, the Wade Trophy has been presented to the WBCA NCAA Division I National Player of the Year since 2001.
Connecticut boats nine total Wade Trophy winners with Breanna Stewart most recently earning the honor in 2016. Stewart became the sixth-ever UConn player to receive the accolade and joins Maya Moore as the only Huskies in program history to win the award multiple times.
The WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Selection Committee will review the list in January to determine if additional players will be added based on their play during the first half of the 2016-17 season.
The WBCA will announce the four finalists for the honor in mid-March. The winner of the 2018 Wade Trophy will be announced during ESPN2's telecast of the 2018 NCAA® Women's Final Four® national semifinal games on March 30.
Player | Institution | Position | Height | Year |
Kristine Anigwe | California | C/F | 6-4 | Jr. |
Monique Billings | UCLA | F | 6-4 | Sr. |
Kalani Brown | Baylor | C | 6-7 | Jr. |
Lexie Brown | Duke | G | 5-9 | Rs-Sr. |
Tyra Buss | Indiana | G | 5-8 | Sr. |
Jordin Canada | UCLA | G | 5-6 | Sr. |
Connecticut | F | 6-1 | Jr. | |
Sophie Cunningham | Missouri | G | 6-1 | Jr. |
Asia Durr | Louisville | G | 5-10 | Jr. |
Katelynn Flaherty | Michigan | G | 5-7 | Sr. |
Myisha Hines-Allen | Louisville | F | 6-2 | Sr. |
Sabrina Ionescu | Oregon | G | 5-10 | So. |
Kitija Laksa | South Florida | F | 6-0 | Jr. |
Tynice Martin | West Virginia | G | 5-11 | Jr. |
Brooke McCarty | Texas | G | 5-4 | Sr. |
Kelsey Mitchell | Ohio State | G | 5-8 | Sr. |
Connecticut | G | 6-0 | Sr. | |
Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame | G | 5-8 | Jr. |
Mercedes Russell | Tennessee | C | 6-6 | RS Sr. |
Connecticut | G/F | 6-3 | Jr. | |
Shakayla Thomas | Florida State | F | 5-11 | Sr. |
Victoria Vivians | Mississippi State | G | 6-1 | Sr. |
Morgan William | Mississippi State | G | 5-5 | Sr. |
Connecticut | F | 5-11 | Sr. | |
A'ja Wilson | South Carolina | F | 6-5 | Sr. |
