Orrange On Lieberman List

Junior point guard Amber Orrange was named to the Lieberman Award Watch List, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Wednesday.

Orrange is one of 29 players on the list for the award, which, named in honor of Nancy Lieberman, honors the nation’s top point guard. She is also one of two Pac-12 players on the list, being joined by California’s Brittany Boyd.

The list will be narrowed down to 20 in February, then to five in March. The winner will be announced during Final Four Weekend in Nashville in April.

Orrange, the conductor of Stanford’s prolific offense for much of the past three seasons, has expanded her scoring talent in 2013-14. The Houston native is averaging 10.4 points per game and is the Pac-12’s top 3-point shooter (44.1 percent) while sitting 10th overall with a 48.8 field-goal percentage.

Running the Cardinal offense, Orrange has continued her role as one of the top set-up players, leading the Pac-12 with a 2.96 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranking third with 4.63 assists per game.

Behind Orrange’s steady play at the point, Stanford is off to a 15-1 start and ranked fourth in both national polls. The Cardinal hits the road for the second straight week starting Thursday, heading to the desert where it will visit Arizona and No. 19/24 Arizona State Friday and Monday, respectively. Both games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.