A third Notre Dame women’s basketball player has earned preseason recognition from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). On Friday, the organizations announced Texas transfer Lauren Ebo has made the 20-player watchlist for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award, which is presented to the nation’s top center. Both Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld earned spots on the Nancy Lieberman and Katrina McClain Watch Lists, respectively.
“Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest basketball players of all time and her achievements at the collegiate, international and professional levels go largely unmatched by anyone in the game,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “The centers that have been named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List this year are among the best in the game regardless of position, and we are excited to watch them excel on the court. We thank Lisa for her involvement in this selection process.”
Ebo, a native of Washington, D.C., who began her collegiate career at Penn State before making the move to Texas, had her best year last season as a senior. The 6-4 center averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over 30 starts. Ebo’s four double-doubles led the team. She was ultimately named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and was a member of the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.
The Irish transfer is one of four ACC players to make the list, joining Kennedy Brown (Duke), Josie Williams (Louisville) and Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech).
2023 Lisa Leslie Award Candidates*
Quay Miller Colorado Aliyah Boston South Carolina
Kennedy Brown Duke Francesca Belibi Stanford
Mackenzie Holmes Indiana Lauren Betts Stanford
Monika Czinano Iowa Tamari Key Tennessee
Josie Williams Louisville Taylor Jones Texas
Jessika Carter Mississippi State Ila Lane UC Santa Barbara
Alexis Markowski Nebraska Dorka Juhasz UConn
Lauren Ebo Notre Dame Elizabeth Kitley Virginia Tech
Sedona Prince Oregon Emma Grothaus Washington
Lucy Cochrane Portland Bella Murekatete Washington State
About Lisa Leslie:
Widely regarded as the best player in the country during her senior year of high school, Leslie decided to play basketball close to home at University of Southern California. While at USC, she set Pac-10 records for scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, earning All-Pac-10 honors each of her four seasons. In 1991, she was named national freshman of the year and went on to earn All-American Honors the following three seasons. In her senior season, she won multiple national player of the year awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year and the WBCA Player of the Year. In the summer of 1997, the Women’s National Basketball Association was launched and with it, Lisa Leslie became a household name. The Los Angeles Sparks landed the hometown star, who would go on to help them win two world championships. As an eight-time All-Star and three-time MVP, Leslie became the face of the WNBA. In 2002, she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. Leslie retired as the all-time leading rebounder in WNBA history and was an eight-time First Team All-WNBA performer.
Internationally, Leslie won four gold medals in Olympic competition. Since retiring from professional play, Leslie has worked as a sports commentator and analyst for several networks, while exploring fashion modeling and acting as well.
About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. For more information, visit us online: WBCA.org, follow @wbca1981 or call 1-770-279-8027.