Feb. 25, 2009
ATLANTA - University of Maryland senior Kristi Toliver has been selected one of 30 mid-season candidates for the 2009 Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, which was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Wednesday.
Toliver leads fifth-ranked Maryland and is second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring with 18 points per game. She is coming off a team season-high 34 points in the Terrapins' 77-59 victory over Duke on Sunday. The Harrisonburg, Va., native is the ACC leader in assists (5.1 apg), 3-point field goals (71) and 3-point field goals per game (2.7).
Toliver ranks eighth nationally in 3-point percentage, sinking 44.7 percent of her long-range attempts. She owns four of the top-five single-season 3-pointers made marks at Maryland (71 this season ranks third) and is third in ACC history with 280 treys. Her school-record 713 assists is the fourth highest total in league history.
Other mid-season candidates that were selected are Jayne Appel (Stanford), Chante Black (Duke), DeWanna Bonner (Auburn), Jessica Breland (UNC), Tina Charles (Connecticut), Alysha Clark (Middle Tennessee St.), Shayla Fields (N.C. State), Rachele Fitz (Marist), Tyra Grant (Penn State), Laura Kurz (Villanova), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), Shalee Lehning (Kansas State), Lyndra Littles (Virginia), Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), Danielle McCray (Kansas), Aisha Mohammed (Virginia), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Maya Moore (Connecticut), Ashley Paris (Oklahoma), Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), Ta'Shia Phillips (Xavier), Epiphanny Prince (Rutgers), Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State), Ashley Walker (California), Morgan Warburton (Utah), Danielle Wilson (Baylor), Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton (Purdue), Monica Wright (Virginia) and Shavonte Zellous (Pittsburgh).
The top 30 women's list was voted on by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.
The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T is the most prestigious national basketball award given annually to the women's college basketball player of the year. This 2009 winner will be announced at the NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis.
For the sixth consecutive season, presenting sponsor AT&T will once again set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining this year's winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging, fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25 percent of the final results -- more than any other national college basketball award. This year, beginning March 22, AT&T wireless customers -- and sports fans on other wireless networks -- will be able to text their votes for the player of their choice.
Fans will be eligible to cast their vote for the winner until 9 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 4. AT&T is making the voting open to other wireless carriers, allowing even more fans to participate. Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate.
