JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD® 2013-14 WOMEN’S BALLOT ANNOUNCED TODAY

Three players from No. 1 UConn and two returning All Americans head the list

Los Angeles (March 6, 2014)— The John R. Wooden Award Women’s Ballot was announced today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the ballot is made up of 15 student-athletes who are eligible for college basketball’s most prestigious honor. All balloted players have proven to their universities that they are making progress toward graduation and are maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The men’s ballot will be released Saturday.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top five players, will be announced the week of the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament after voting by hundreds of media members from March 12 through 25. The Wooden Award is unique in that voters may take into account play through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year will be announced as part of the 38th annual Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s weekend April 10-12, 2014 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The event will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, and will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, this year given to Stanford Head Women’s Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer.

Two players return to the ballot from the five-player All American team in 2013: senior Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford and senior Odyssey Sims of Baylor. Both players have carried their teams this season to top national rankings and conference titles albeit in different ways. Ogwumike is the nation’s no. 3 scorer (27.1, all stats through 3/2) and eighth-ranked rebounder (12.0) as an offensive and defensive force in the post for the Cardinal. Arguably the nation’s top guard, Sims is the leading scorer in the country at 30.2 points per game, and has made 87 three-pointers on the season.

Connecticut, the number one ranked team in the country, placed three players on the ballot: Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley and Breanna Stewart. Notre Dame was the only other school with multiple players balloted, Jewell Loyd and Kayla McBride. Only one freshman was chosen, North Carolina’s dynamic forward Diamond DeShields, who averages 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds.

The ACC and The American lead the way in terms of conferences, with five selections from the ACC and four from The American. The Big Ten had three, followed by the Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC each with one player named to the ballot.

About the John R. Wooden Award

Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ‘11). Baylor’s Brittney Griner won the 2013 John R. Wooden Award.

Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.

Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com, following us on Twitter (@WoodenAward), or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5231 or via email at [email protected].

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2013-14 John R. Wooden Award^®
Women’s Ballot

Name	Height	Class	Position	University	Conference
Rachel Banham	5-9	Jr.	G	Minnesota	Big Ten
Diamond DeShields	6-1	Fr.	G	North Carolina	ACC
Stefanie Dolson	6-5	Sr.	C	UConn	The American
Bria Hartley	5-8	Sr.	G	UConn	The American
Jordan Hooper	6-2	Sr.	F	Nebraska	Big Ten
Tricia Liston	6-1	Sr.	G	Duke	ACC
Jewell Loyd	5-10	So.	G	Notre Dame	ACC
Maggie Lucas	5-10	Sr.	G	Penn State	Big Ten
Kayla McBride	5-11	Sr.	G	Notre Dame	ACC
Tiffany Mitchell	5-9	So.	G	South Carolina	SEC
Chiney Ogwumike#	6-4	Sr.	F	Stanford	Pac-12
Shoni Schimmel	5-6	Jr.	G	Louisville	The American
Odyssey Sims#	5-8	Sr.	G	Baylor	Big 12
Breanna Stewart	6-4	So.	F	UConn	The American
Alyssa Thomas	6-2	Sr.	F	Maryland	ACC

(Players listed alphabetically.)
# indicates player chosen to the 2013 Wooden Award All American Team

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