Feb. 14, 2008

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland women's basketball standout Kristi Toliver was selected a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award for the second-consecutive year, the Rotary Club of Detroit announced Thursday. In its ninth season, the award honors the nation's top collegiate point guard in Division I women's basketball. Sportswriters from across the country determined the nominee list of nine student-athletes.

The criterion for the award is floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills that personified Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman during her career. The final three and one winner will be selected from the list at the beginning of April 2008. The announcement of the final three and the winner will be announced during the NCAA Final Four Weekend April 6-8, 2008.

Junior Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) is having the best season of her career. She ranks third in the nation in assists per game, averaging 8.1 dishes per game. Leading the ACC in the category, she is also threatening the league single-season record set by former Terp Tara Heiss in 1978 (8.0 apg).

Toliver recently handed out her 500th-career assist, making her one of only four Terrapins all-time to reach the milestone and also ranks second at Maryland in the category. Entering Thursday night's game vs. Boston College, she is in the top 20 in the ACC all-time in career assists (525) and is tied for fourth in career assists per game (5.6). Toliver also scored her 1,000th-career point earlier in the season and broke the program's three-point record.

Toliver leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game, a career high. She is this week's ACC Player of the Week, her second selection of the season, after recording a career-high tying 28 points in the overtime win at Virginia Tech last week and posting a double-double vs. Virginia on Sunday, including a career-high tying 14 assists. Toliver has had seven double-doubles this season, reaching double digits in points and assists.

Joining Toliver on the finalists list are Matee Ajavon of Rutgers, Kimberly Beck of George Washington, Shannon Bobbitt of Tennessee, Kristi Cirone of Illinois State, Leilani Mitchell of Utah, Renee Montgomery of Connecticut, Andrea Riley of Oklahoma State and Erica White of LSU.

The fourth-ranked Terrapins play BC tonight at Comcast Center, then travel to Durham, N.C., for a rematch against No. 12 Duke on Sunday evening, Feb. 17. The game will be televised on nationally on Fox Sports Net (Comcast SportsNet in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area) and can be heard across the state on the Maryland Radio Network. An audio link will also be provided on www.umterps.com.

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