No not that Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, the other Ann Meyers Drysdale Award
You know you have had a great career when not one but two post-season awards are named after you. Such is the case for Ann Meyers Drysdale. The USBWA announced the watch list for their Ann Meyers Drysdale Award on Thursday. The honor goes to the nation’s best player.
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The state of Oregon knows how it feels when it comes to being recognized in women’s basketball on multiple fronts. With two of the nation’s top five teams, the state saw multiple players from both of their Pac-12 universities land on the list.
Oregon placed three on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list led by Sabrina Ionescu. She is joined by teammates Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally. Despite their loss last week to then-No. 8 Louisville, the No. 3 Ducks are still in the top 10 of unofficial RPI rankings.
Ionescu is the likely frontrunner for the award. The senior guard has already surpassed 2,000 career points. She is on track to become the first player in NCAA history to reach 2,000 career points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
The USBWA named two Oregon State Beavers to the list. Senior Mikayla Pivec and junior Destiny Slocum have led Oregon State to an unblemished 7-0 record with wins over two ranked teams and another that has moved into the rankings since they played.
The five players from the two Oregon schools are among eight Pac-12 representatives on the list. Along with their conference opponents from the Pacific Northwest, league members Aari McDonald (Arizona), Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA) and Kiana Williams (Stanford) joined the group giving the Pac-12 the most representatives of any conference.
The team that placed the most players on the list is on the other coast, though. Four Connecticut Huskies were named to the list: Crystal Dangerfield, Chrystyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Megan Walker.
The winner will be announced at the 2020 Final Four in New Orleans. She will also be honored at a luncheon in St. Louis, Missouri on April 13, 2020.
Iowa’s Megan Gustafson won the award last year.
The complete list announced by the USBWA:
G/F Bella Alarie, Princeton (6-4, Sr., Bethesda, Md.)
F Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (6-5, Fr., St. Thomas, USVI)
G Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M (5-7, Jr., Mansfield, Texas)
G Kaila Charles, Maryland (6-1, Sr., Glenn Dale, Md.)
F Lauren Cox, Baylor (6-4, Sr., Flower Mound, Texas)
G Crystal Dangerfield, UConn (5-5, Sr., Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
F Mariella Fasoula, Vanderbilt (6-5, R-Sr., Athens, Greece)
G Haley Gorecki, Duke (6-0, Gr., Palatine, Ill.)
G Tyasha Harris, South Carolina (5-10, Sr., Noblesville, Ind.)
F Ruthie Hebard, Oregon (6-4, Sr., Fairbanks, Alaska)
F Joyner Holmes, Texas (6-3, Sr., Cedar Hill, Texas)
G Rhyne Howard, Kentucky (6-2, So., Cleveland, Tenn.)
G Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (5-11, Sr., Walnut Creek, Calif.)
G Stella Johnson, Rider (5-10, Sr., Denville, N.J.)
G Tynice Martin, West Virginia (5-11, R-Sr., Atlanta, Ga.)
G Taylor Mikesell, Maryland (5-11, So., Massillon, Ohio)
G Aari McDonald, Arizona (5-6, Jr., Fresno, Calif.)
F Beatrice Mompremier, Miami (6-4, R-Sr, Miami, Fla.)
F Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn (6-5, So., Winder, Ga.)
F Leona Odum, Duke (6-2, Sr., Lompoc, Calif.)
G Erica Ogwumike, Rice (5-9, Sr., Cypress, Texas)
F Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA (6-0, Jr., Aurora, Colo.)
G Ali Patberg, Indiana (5-11, R-Jr., Columbus, Ind.)
G/F Destiny Pitts, Minnesota (5-10, Jr., Detroit, Mich.)
G Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State (5-10, Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.)
F Satou Sabally, Oregon (6-4, Jr., Berlin, Germany)
F Shadeen Samuels, Seton Hall (6-0, Sr., Ossining, N.Y.)
G Destiny Slocum, Oregon State (5-7, R-Jr., Meridian, Idaho)
G Kamiah Smalls, James Madison (5-10, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.)
F Chante Stonewall, DePaul (6-1, Sr., Normal, Ill.)
F Megan Walker, UConn (6-1, Jr., Chesterfield, Va.)
G Chrystyn Williams, UConn (5-11, So., Little Rock, Ark.)
G Kiana Williams, Stanford (5-8, Jr., San Antonio, Texas)
G/F Jocelyn Willoughby, Virginia (6-0, Sr., East Orange, N.J.)
G Kay Kay Wright, UCF (5-7, Sr., Orlando, Fla.)
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