University of Connecticut Athletics
Nelson-Ododa Named Lisa Leslie Award Finalist
3/5/2021 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – UConn women's basketball junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa was named one of five finalists for the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Friday.
Nelson-Ododa leads UConn with 7.7 rebounds per game and paces the BIG EAST with 40 blocks and 1.8 blocks per game. She has seven double-doubles on the season and ranks 10th nationally with a 59.0 field goal percentage.
Nelson-Ododa was named the BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST Second Team.
The other finalists for the Lisa Leslie Awards are Elissa Cunane (NC State), Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Charli Collier (Texas) and Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech).
A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes in November, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in February and now just five finalists. This month, the finalists will be presented to Ms. Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live today, March 5 on hoophallawards.com.
The winner of the 2021 Lisa Leslie Center Award will be presented on ESPN, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Other awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award and the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, in addition to the Men's Starting Five. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.
