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Fair Named to Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch List
11/11/2020 10:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Hopewell, NJ – The honors continue to roll in for University at Buffalo women's basketball sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair as she has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, as announced by Her Hoop Stats on Wednesday morning. It is the second straight year Fair has been named to this list.
The Becky Hammon Award was first awarded in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. This year's preseason watch list includes representation from 23 teams and 15 conferences.
The Mid-American conference is well represented on the 25 player list as Central Michigan's Micaela Kelly and Ohio's CeCe Hooks and Erica Johnson join Fair from the MAC.
Fair was named 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team All-MAC selection last season. The Rochester, NY native put together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in program history as she finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (22.0 ppg), while also ranking third in final points (660), 20th in steals per game (2.8) and 21st in total steals (83). Additionally, she finished in the top 10 in nine statistical categories on UB's single-season records list.
"Becky Hammon was a student-athlete who saw no boundaries to what she could become and she led her teams to great success," said Buffalo women's basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "As a coach you see what she has done to break through glass ceilings in our game and our goal for Dyaisha is to stand on the shoulders of someone like a Becky Hammon and pursue those accolades as well. We are humbled by this recognition and we hope we can make Becky proud both individually and collectively as a team.
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." On January 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March.
2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List*
Dariauna Lewis Alabama A&M
Dyaisha Fair Buffalo
Micaela Kelly Central Michigan
Ilmar'l Thomas Cincinnati
Maddi Utti Fresno State
Tierra Hodges Furman
Jill Townsend Gonzaga
Macee Williams IUPUI
Natalie Kucowski Lafayette
Jasmine Franklin Missouri St,
CeCe Hooks Ohio
Erica Johnson Ohio
Valerie Higgins Pacific
Kayla Padilla Penn
Alex Fowler Portland
Carlie Littlefield Princeton
Ayzhiana Basallo San Jose St.
Tyra Whitehead San Jose St.
Hannah Sjerven South Dakoka
Tesia Thompson Southeast Missouri St.
Mia Davis Temple
Kionna Jeter Towson
Ila Lane USC Santa Barbara
Chelsey Perry UT Martin
Raneem Elgedawy Western Kentucky
*The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
The Becky Hammon Award was first awarded in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. This year's preseason watch list includes representation from 23 teams and 15 conferences.
The Mid-American conference is well represented on the 25 player list as Central Michigan's Micaela Kelly and Ohio's CeCe Hooks and Erica Johnson join Fair from the MAC.
Fair was named 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team All-MAC selection last season. The Rochester, NY native put together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in program history as she finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (22.0 ppg), while also ranking third in final points (660), 20th in steals per game (2.8) and 21st in total steals (83). Additionally, she finished in the top 10 in nine statistical categories on UB's single-season records list.
"Becky Hammon was a student-athlete who saw no boundaries to what she could become and she led her teams to great success," said Buffalo women's basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "As a coach you see what she has done to break through glass ceilings in our game and our goal for Dyaisha is to stand on the shoulders of someone like a Becky Hammon and pursue those accolades as well. We are humbled by this recognition and we hope we can make Becky proud both individually and collectively as a team.
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." On January 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March.
2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List*
Dariauna Lewis Alabama A&M
Dyaisha Fair Buffalo
Micaela Kelly Central Michigan
Ilmar'l Thomas Cincinnati
Maddi Utti Fresno State
Tierra Hodges Furman
Jill Townsend Gonzaga
Macee Williams IUPUI
Natalie Kucowski Lafayette
Jasmine Franklin Missouri St,
CeCe Hooks Ohio
Erica Johnson Ohio
Valerie Higgins Pacific
Kayla Padilla Penn
Alex Fowler Portland
Carlie Littlefield Princeton
Ayzhiana Basallo San Jose St.
Tyra Whitehead San Jose St.
Hannah Sjerven South Dakoka
Tesia Thompson Southeast Missouri St.
Mia Davis Temple
Kionna Jeter Towson
Ila Lane USC Santa Barbara
Chelsey Perry UT Martin
Raneem Elgedawy Western Kentucky
*The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
Players Mentioned
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