Two Terps Named to WBCA National Player of the Year Watch List

Aug. 19, 2008

ATLANTA - Maryland's Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver were two of 25 women's basketball players named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "Wade Watch" list for the State Farm Wade Trophy, presented to the Division I national player of the year, the WBCA announced on Tuesday. It is the third-straight year the duo makes the preseason list.

Maryland is one of six schools with multiple candidates. It is the fourth-straight year the Terrapins have had at least two players named to the watch list. The ACC is second among all the conferences in selections, boasting six overall, two fewer than the Big East.

Rising seniors Marissa Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's College [D.C.]) and Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) are two of three players named candidates for the third-consecutive year. Oklahoma's Courtney Paris is also making her third-career appearance.

Toliver is coming off a career season where she was named an All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). She was also selected the top point guard in the nation, winning the Nancy Lieberman Award. She averaged career-bests of 17.1 points and 7.4 assists per game. A first-team All-ACC selection, she broke the conference's single-season assists mark, which had stood for 30 years, dishing out 275.

Coleman was an Honorable Mention AP All-American for the second-straight year and became only the eighth player in the history of the program to earn three All-ACC honors, earning a spot on the second team for the third time. One of nine Terrapins all-time with 1,500 career points, she averaged 16.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, breaking the program's single-season free throw mark, making 166 in 37 games. She is also one of only three players in the history of ACC women's basketball to amass 1,500 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 blocks in a career.

The State Farm Wade Trophy, now in its 32nd year and named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. This highly prestigious award, regarded as the "Heisman of Women's Basketball", is organized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), in conjunction with the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).

The 2009 State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be announced at the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, Mo., April 3-7, 2009.

2008-09 State Farm Wade Trophy Preseason List
Jayne Appel (Junior, C, Stanford)
Chante Black (Senior, C, Duke)
DeWanna Bonner (Senior, G, Auburn)
Tina Charles (Junior, C, Connecticut)
Marissa Coleman (Senior, G/F, Maryland)
Allyssa DeHaan (Junior, C, Michigan State)
Krystal Ellis (Senior, G, Marquette)
Devanei Hampton (Senior, C, Cal)
Jantel Lavender (Sophomore, C, Ohio State)
Rashanda McCants (Senior, G/F, North Carolina)
Angel McCoughtry (Senior, F, Louisville)
Renee Montgomery (Senior, G, Connecticut)
Maya Moore (Sophomore, F, Connecticut)
Courtney Paris (Senior, C, Oklahoma)
Kayla Pederson (Sophomore, F, Stanford)
Epiphanny Prince (Junior, G, Rutgers)
Andrea Riley (Junior, G, Oklahoma State)
Takia Starks (Senior, G, Texas A&M)
Kristi Toliver (Senior, G, Maryland)
Kia Vaughn (Senior, C, Rutgers)
Ashley Walker (Senior, F, California)
Abby Waner (Senior, G, Duke)
Christina Wirth (Senior, G/F, Vanderbilt)
Monica Wright (Junior, G, Virginia)
Shavonte Zellous (Senior, G, Pittsburgh)