SPRINGFIELD, MA – Senior Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) of the Rider University women's basketball team was named one of the five finalists for the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Monday.
Now in its twenty-first year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. To be considered for the prestigious award, candidates must exhibit floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Stella was the only mid-major selected to the top-10 as she joined players from the Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, and AAC.
"What an amazing honor and recognition for Stella," Rider Head Coach
Lynn Milligan said. She has worked very hard to lead her team in every way she can. Her versatility is at a high level."
On Monday, Stella was also named a unanimous selection to the All-MAAC First Team for the second year in a row. She currently leads the nation in scoring with 24.4 points per game. Earlier this winter, she became the only active Division I women's basketball to have 2,000 career points, 700 career rebounds, 400 career assists and 300 career steals.
The five finalists for the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award are
Te'a Cooper (Baylor),
Crystal Dangerfield (Conneticut),
Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon),
Stella Johnson (Rider), and
Tyasha Harris (South Carolina).
The Selection Committee for the Nancy Lieberman Award is composed of top women's college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalists when the Starting Five Fan Voting goes live on Friday, March 13 via
www.hoophallawards.com.
The five finalists will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner of the 2020 Lieberman Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's in Los Angeles, California on Friday, April 10, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men's Starting Five.