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Onwuka Named NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee
7/14/2020 1:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – Theresa Onwuka has been named the University at Buffalo's Woman of the Year nominee, as announced by the school and the NCAA on Tuesday.
Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Onwuka is one of a record 605 female college athletes in 2020.
Onwuka was a four-year standout member of the Bulls' women's basketball team. She graduated this past spring with a degree in health and human services with a concentration in mental health and is currently enrolled in UB's highly selective accelerated nursing program. A three-time Academic All-MAC selection, Onwuka graduated with a 3.79 GPA.
At Buffalo, Onwuka served on the board of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) where she worked diligently to unify UB student-athletes and to help promote school spirit in her role as spirit officer. Additionally, she served as one of two Buffalo representatives to the Mid-American Conference chapter of the Council of Student Athletes (COSA) where she helped run several campaigns, including a successful anti-bullying campaign during the conference's Diversity and Inclusion Week, and was active in raising awareness for mental health.
Throughout her four years Onwuka worked diligently to serve the Buffalo and Western New York Community, volunteering at Sisters of Charity Hospital and the Buffalo City Mission while also giving back to local schools by helping out in physical education classes and serving as a peer mentor for reading. Onwuka has prioritized giving back to her native Nigeria through summer trips as well as her most recent pursuit, PickMeUp Naija, an organization which she founded with fellow Nigerian student-athletes to collect money and send funds and other necessities to those in need in Nigeria.
On the court, Onwuka enjoyed the best season of her career as a senior captain earning Second Team All-MAC and All-Defensive Team honors after averaging career highs in points (14.7), rebounds (7.3), steals (2.5) and minutes (35.1), while making 49.3% of her field goal attempts and 71.5% of her free throw attempts. She scored in double figures in 24 of UB's 31 games this season and finished the season ranked 25th in the nation in steals (76) and 31st in steals per game (2.5). Onwuka became the program's 26th 1,000 point scorer in a win over Kent State on Senior Day.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award recognizes graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.
Next, conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
Member schools are encouraged to honor their top graduating female college athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year Award. Onwuka is one of a record 605 female college athletes in 2020.
Onwuka was a four-year standout member of the Bulls' women's basketball team. She graduated this past spring with a degree in health and human services with a concentration in mental health and is currently enrolled in UB's highly selective accelerated nursing program. A three-time Academic All-MAC selection, Onwuka graduated with a 3.79 GPA.
At Buffalo, Onwuka served on the board of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) where she worked diligently to unify UB student-athletes and to help promote school spirit in her role as spirit officer. Additionally, she served as one of two Buffalo representatives to the Mid-American Conference chapter of the Council of Student Athletes (COSA) where she helped run several campaigns, including a successful anti-bullying campaign during the conference's Diversity and Inclusion Week, and was active in raising awareness for mental health.
Throughout her four years Onwuka worked diligently to serve the Buffalo and Western New York Community, volunteering at Sisters of Charity Hospital and the Buffalo City Mission while also giving back to local schools by helping out in physical education classes and serving as a peer mentor for reading. Onwuka has prioritized giving back to her native Nigeria through summer trips as well as her most recent pursuit, PickMeUp Naija, an organization which she founded with fellow Nigerian student-athletes to collect money and send funds and other necessities to those in need in Nigeria.
On the court, Onwuka enjoyed the best season of her career as a senior captain earning Second Team All-MAC and All-Defensive Team honors after averaging career highs in points (14.7), rebounds (7.3), steals (2.5) and minutes (35.1), while making 49.3% of her field goal attempts and 71.5% of her free throw attempts. She scored in double figures in 24 of UB's 31 games this season and finished the season ranked 25th in the nation in steals (76) and 31st in steals per game (2.5). Onwuka became the program's 26th 1,000 point scorer in a win over Kent State on Senior Day.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award recognizes graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The nominees represent all three NCAA divisions, including 259 nominees from Division I, 126 from Division II and 220 from Division III. Nominees competed in 24 sports, with multisport student-athletes accounting for 128 of the nominees.
Next, conference offices will select up to two nominees each from their pool of member school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
From the Top 30, the Woman of the Year selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division and announce nine finalists. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this fall.
Players Mentioned
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