Feb. 24, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame freshman guard Lindsay Allen (Mitchellville, Md./St. John’s College High School) has been named a candidate for the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard, it was announced Monday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Allen is one of just two freshmen (along with Northwestern’s Ashley Deary), and one of two Atlantic Coast Conference players (joining Florida State’s Yashira Delgado) on the Lieberman Award’s 22-player final candidate list. The award’s original watch list was pared down to its final roster of 22 players by a nationally-based committee.
Allen will be seeking to follow in the footsteps of former Fighting Irish All-America guard Skylar Diggins, who became just the third two-time recipient of the Lieberman Award by earning the honor in 2012 and 2013.
“This is a tremendous reward for Lindsay,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She has worked extremely hard from day one to step in and take over as our point guard, which she has done with great success. She has a terrific basketball IQ and is a quick learner. She’s also such a composed and focused player on the court, and we’re excited about what the future holds for her.”
Allen has started all 27 games for Notre Dame this season, averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 assists per game with a 1.96 assist/turnover ratio. She ranks third in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio and 10th in assists, and has scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high 16 points against Miami on Jan. 23 at Purcell Pavilion.
Allen became the first Notre Dame rookie point guard to start a season opener since 1994-95 (Mollie Peirick at Seton Hall) when she cracked the Fighting Irish lineup for their debut against UNC Wilmington on Nov. 9, and with 102 assists this year, she is just the second Fighting Irish freshman in the past 20 seasons to dish out 100 assists in her first college campaign (Diggins had 112 in 2009-10).
A premier selection committee made up of top college basketball personnel including Hall of Famers, media members, head coaches and sports information directors was appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the candidates. The list will be narrowed to five finalists by March, with this year’s recipient announced during Final Four weekend activities in early April.
“We are honored to be recognizing these 22 athletes for their strengths, skills and commitment to the game of basketball and are excited to move forward in the selection process,” said Hall of Famer Lieberman. “All of these young women deserve to be on the list for this well-respected award and deserve recognition for their determination.”
No. 2 Notre Dame (27-0, 14-0 ACC) will close out its regular season home schedule at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday when it plays host to No. 14/8 North Carolina at Purcell Pavilion. The first regular season meeting between the Fighting Irish and Tar Heels since 2000-01 will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN mobile app, while the live Notre Dame Radio Network broadcast can be heard on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) in South Bend or online free of charge through the official Fighting Irish athletics multimedia platform, WatchND.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s basketball Twitter pages (@ndwbbsid or @ndwbb), like the program on Facebook (facebook.com/ndwbb) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director