Seven Players Added to State Farm Wade Watch List

ATLANTA - The State Farm Wade Trophy Committee elected to add seven additional student-athletes to the 2009-2010 State Farm Wade Watch list. James Madison’s Dawn Evans, Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin, Stanford’s Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Notre Dame’s Lindsay Schrader, University of Tennessee’s Shekinna Stricklen, Ole Miss’ Bianca Thomas and Duke’s Jasmine Thomas are all added to the existing 25 player pool selected during the preseason.

The committee added the list of seven student-athletes to the State Farm Wade Watch based on each player’s successful on-court performances this season.

Evans joins the Wade Watch after leading the NCAA in scoring with 27.1 points per game. The 5’7” James Madison junior guard has been named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week four times this season. She holds the school record for most three-pointers in a game with nine. Evans has hit at least one three-pointer in the last 25 games for JMU, which is also a school record.

Griffin’s addition to the elite group comes about as she is currently averaging 19.1 points and 10.4 rebounds a game on Nebraska’s red-hot fourth ranked squad. The 6’2” senior forward is currently ranked ninth in Nebraska’s all-time career scoring with 1,670 points scored. Griffin has ten double-doubles so far this season and 30 in her career. She has been named Big 12 Player of the Week once this season while helping her team to the top of the Big 12 standings.

Ogumike joins the Wade Watch after leading the No. 2 Cardinal’s in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. The 6’2” sophomore forward set the Stanford single game rebound record with 23 rebounds. Ogumike has been named Pac-10 Player of the Week three times this season and currently leads the Pac-10 in scoring and is ranked second in the Pac-10 in rebounding.

Schrader is averaging 11.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds a game. The red-shirt senior is currently ranked seventh in the BIG EAST Conference in rebounding and has helped lead the Irish to their third place ranking in the USA TODAY ESPN Division I Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. Schrader has scored over 1,000 points during her tenure at Notre Dame and is ranked eighth on Notre Dame’s career rebounding list with 751 boards.

Stricklen adds to the depth of the Wade Watch group by averaging 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. The 6’2” sophomore guard/forward became only the second player in Tennessee’s history to record a triple-double when she scored 17 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a victory over Oklahoma earlier this season. Stricklen has been named the SEC Player of the Week twice on the season.

Ole Miss senior Bianca Thomas joins the Wade Watch after leading the Rebels in scoring with 22.4 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. The 5’10” guard is tied for the school record of most three-pointers made in a game with seven, something she has been able to do three times in her career at Ole Miss so far. Thomas has been named SEC Player of the Week and become the first Rebel in fourteen years to have five straight games with at least 20 points.

Duke’s Jasmine Thomas was added to the Wade Watch and is currently averaging 15.8 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. The 5’9” junior guard is ranked fifth in the ACC in scoring and sixth in assists. Thomas has been the ACC Player of the Week once so far this season and has helped lead her team to the top of the ACC rankings as the Blue Devils remain unbeaten in conference play.

The renowned “Wade Watch” list for The State Farm Wade Trophy is comprised of student-athletes who are members of an NCAA Division I institution and are selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The State Farm Wade Watch list will be narrowed down to 12 finalists in mid-March. The State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be officially announced at the WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four, in San Antonio, Texas.

The Wade Trophy, named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. The Wade Trophy Coalition was established in June of 2000 when the WBCA partnered with The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS). For the past ten years the two have worked together to present The State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year Award. A committee compromised of coaches, administration and media from across the United States selects the winner.

About State Farm
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

About the NAGWS
The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) was established to develop and deliver equitable and quality sport opportunities for ALL girls and women through relevant research, advocacy, leadership development, educational strategies, and programming in a manner that promotes social justice and change.

About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA 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. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.

--WBCA--