April 23, 2008
PHOTO GALLERY
DETROIT -
Maryland's Kristi Toliver accepted the Nancy Lieberman Award, presented to the nation's top NCAA Division I women's point guard, at a luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club on Wednesday. Toliver was named the winner during the NCAA Final Four in early April.
Kristi Toliver (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was in Detroit for a couple days, participating in a clinic for middle school girls basketball players on Tuesday evening. Toliver, along with Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, instructed about 100 girls through basic drills, which emphasized the game's fundamentals. After the clinic, which was held at a local high school in a suburb of Detroit and lasted about an hour, both Toliver and Lieberman signed autographs for the young fans.
On Wednesday, Toliver was the guest of honor, along with head coach Brenda Frese, Toliver's father George, mother Peggy, sister Carli, and about 10 family members hailing from the Midwest. After a sit-down lunch, Lieberman presented Toliver with a crystal trophy in the shape of a small basketball. Detroit's Devin Scillian of WDIV-TV NBC4 was the emcee and keynote speaker.
The Nancy Lieberman Award is in its ninth year and Toliver is the first-ever Terrapin to receive the prestigious award. Selected by national media members, the criteria for the award are floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills that personified the Hall of Famer. Toliver is also the fifth different player to win the honor since 2000.
Toliver had a career season, averaging 17.1 points and 7.4 assists per game. Her assists per game average was the best in the ACC and ranked fifth in the country. She was selected a State Farm/WBCA All-American, as well as an Associated Press and United State Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-American. Toliver also was named a first team All-ACC and an NCAA Tournament Spokane Region All-Tournament pick.
Toliver was picked the Lieberman Award winner over Utah's Leilani Mitchell, Connecticut's Renee Montgomery and Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley.
-TERPS
