March 27, 2013
Lucas espnW Blog | LadyLions.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State Lady Lion junior guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) and head coach Coquese Washington have been honored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) as a State Farm Wade Trophy Finalist and Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 6 Coach of the Year, respectively. Lucas is among the 12 finalists for the Wade Trophy for the WBCA's National Player of the Year, while Washington claims her second consecutive Region 6 Coach of the Year honor. Washington is now a finalist for the WBCA's National Coach of the Year.
Both the Wade Trophy and National Coach of the Year award winners will be announced during the WBCA Awards Show, which will be held at 5 p.m. CT Monday, April 8, in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center's New Orleans Theatre. The event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women's Final Four®.
Lucas is the first Lady Lion to be a State Farm Wade Trophy Finalist since Kelly Mazzante in 2004 and it is the seventh time that a Lady Lion has been on the elite list. Lucas took home Big Ten Player of the Year honors and her second-straight All-Big Ten first team honor after averaging 20.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She capped an outstanding junior year with 644 points, which is fifth on the Penn State's single-season chart. She also netted 98 three-pointers on the year, which is tied with Mazzante for third on the program's single-season list. Additionally, her .462 three-point field goal percentage this season is fourth in NCAA Division I and ranks second in school history. Entering her final campaign in the Blue & White, Lucas is seventh in school history in scoring (1,838) and second in three-point field goals made (292).
The candidates were selected by a vote of committee members consisting of leading basketball coaches, journalists and administrators. The committee will select the winner of The State Farm Wade Trophy from among these 12 finalists who also are named to the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Team when it is chosen in April.
"The State Farm Wade Trophy is one of the most exciting awards to be a part of, because these 12 finalists' are the games most elite players and are truly exciting to watch," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "This trophy is the equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, which is given out annually in collegiate football. These finalists play immense roles as members of their respective institutions' women's basketball programs and one of them will be honored with our sport's most prestigious award."
Coquese Washington |
The State Farm Wade Trophy, now in its 36th year, is named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade. This most prestigious award, regarded as "The Heisman of Women's Basketball", debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball.
Washington is the first Penn State mentor to earn back-to-back WBCA Regional Coach of the Year accolades and consecutive berths as a WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist. In her sixth season, Washington guided the Lady Lions to their second-straight Big Ten regular season title with a 26-6 overall record and 14-2 mark in conference play. For her efforts, Washington was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second-straight season by the media. The Lady Lions have increased their Big Ten win total each of Washington's six campaigns. Additionally under Washington's tutelage, Penn State has claimed a Big Ten Player of the Year honor (Lucas) and seven All-Big Ten first team accolades (Alex Bentley-3; Lucas-2; Tyra Grant-2).
"The WBCA and its members congratulate these eight coaches on being named finalists for the 2013 Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year Award," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "Each coach was selected by their peers and is deserving of this honor."
Russell Athletic and the WBCA present the national coach of the year award annually in each of the five WBCA membership divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II and III; NAIA; junior/community college and high school). This is the 31st year since 1983 that the WBCA has presented this honor to an NCAA Division I head coach.
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2013 Wade Trophy Finalists
Layshia Clareden, California
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame
Stefanie Dolson, Connecticut
Brittney Griner, Baylor
Maggie Lucas, PENN STATE
A'dia Mathies, Kentucky
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Connecticut
Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Meighan Simmons, Tennessee
Odyssey Sims, Baylor
Alyssa Thomas, Maryland
2013 Russell Athletic/WBCA Division I Regional Coach of the Year & National Coach of the Year Finalists
Region 1 - Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame
Region 2 - Brenda Frese, Maryland
Region 3 - Holly Warlick, Tennessee
Region 4 - Tricia Cullop, Toledo
Region 5 - Kim Mulkey, Baylor
Region 6 - Coquese Washington, PENN STATE
Region 7 - Beth Burns, San Diego State
Region 8 - Tara VanDerveer, Stanford
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About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls.
About Russell Athletic:
For more than 100 years, Russell Brands, LLC, has supplied America's athletes and teams with the latest innovations to help them perform at their best and is a leading supplier of apparel and team uniforms at the high school, college and professional levels. Russell's collegiate licensed products and athletic wear are broadly distributed and marketed through department stores, sports specialty stores, retail chains and college bookstores. For more information, please visit www.RussellAthletic.com, facebook.com/russellathletic, Twitter.com/RussellAthletic.