Basketball Hall of Fame Release (DOCX)
FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason junior guard
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary has been named to the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced 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 to this prestigious award, candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Cardaño-Hillary, the 2019 A-10 Player of the Year, led the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) and steals (65) and also was named to the A-10 All-Conference First Team in 2018-19.
Last season, she finished 21st in the country in scoring (20.4 ppg) and scored more than 20 points in 16 games. She also notched 30 points or more four times, including a career-high 37 against George Washington on Feb. 6. The 37 points were the most by a Mason player in a game in more than 15 years. In addition to leading the league in steals for the second straight year, she also was tied for fifth in assists (95).
She currently ranks 14th on Mason's all-time scoring with 1,218 points and is 13th in career steals (149). She sits 12th in three-point field goals made (111) and 18th in assists (197).
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. New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, October 25.
Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (2018-19), Kelsey Plum, Washington (2017), Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut (2015-16), Odyssey Sims, Baylor (2014), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012-13), Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga (2011), Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State (2010), Renee Montgomery, Connecticut (2009), Kristi Toliver, Maryland (2008), Lindsey Harding, Duke (2007), Ivory Latta, North Carolina (2006), Temeka Johnson, LSU (2005), Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (2003-04), and Sue Bird, Connecticut (2000-02).
2020 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
| Te'a Cooper |
Baylor |
| Crystal Dangerfield |
Connecticut |
| Kelly Campbell |
DePaul |
| Nicole Cardaño-Hillary |
George Mason |
| Ali Patberg |
Indiana |
| Lauren Dickerson |
Miami-Ohio |
| Cierra Hooks |
Ohio |
| Sabrina Ionescu |
Oregon |
| Destiny Slocum |
Oregon State |
| Stella Johnson |
Rider |
| Tyasha Harris |
South Carolina |
| Tiana England |
St. John's |
| Sug Sutton |
Texas |
| Chennedy Carter |
Texas A&M |
| Miyah Barnes |
UAB |
| Kay Kay Wright |
UCF |
| Japreece Dean |
UCLA |
| Dru Gylten |
Utah |
| Taja Cole |
Virginia Tech |
| Chloe Wanink |
Wofford |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season*
About Nancy Lieberman:
Playing hoops on the rough-and-tumble Harlem courts, Brooklyn-bred Nancy Lieberman learned to play a physical, aggressive style of basketball unlike other women of her time. As a 5'10" point guard, Lieberman was taller than many of the guards of her era, and her ability to drive to the hoop, dish out assists, and grab hard-fought rebounds served her well during her stellar career. Lieberman led Old Dominion University to back-to-back AIAW national championships in 1979 and 1980. In 1986, she signed to be the first women to play in a men's professional league in the USBL with the Springfield Fame and in 1987 with the Long Island Knights. She was twice named as the Wade Trophy winner — a basketball first. As the nation's top female athlete during those two seasons, Lieberman was the two-time winner of the Broderick Cup as well. Lieberman played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League, Women's American Basketball Association, United States Basketball League, Women's National Basketball Association and with the Washington Generals. Earning WBL MVP honors with the Dallas Diamonds in 1981, she led the team to the 1984 WABA championship and was league MVP. In 2011, she was the first women Head Coach hired in the NBA D-League for the Dallas Mavericks affiliate the Texas Legends. In 2015, she became only the second women hired as an Assistant Coach in the NBA with the Sacramento Kinds. She was named a recipient of the 2017 Mannie Jackson Basketball's Human Spirit Award for her on-going philanthropic work across the country through her Nancy Lieberman Charities, changing the lives of underserved youth across the country. In 2018 Nancy Lieberman became the 1st Female Head Coach in a Men's Professional League with the BIG3 League for team Power. Nancy lead team Power to a 2018 Championship victory and was selected Coach of the Year, becoming the first female in history to be awarded Coach of the Year.
