Gylten Named to Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Utah's women's basketball player Dru Gylten was named to the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch list, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced. Gylten is one of 20 players selected for the watch list. 
 
Season tickets for the 2021-22 season are now available. Floor seats are priced at $100 while general admission tickets at $25. Call the Utah ticket office at 801-581-UTIX or visit www.UtahTickets.com.  
 
In its 23rd year, the award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking, and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman. To view the official release, click here. 
 
"Dru Gylten is, without a doubt, one of the absolute best playmakers in college basketball," remarked head coach Lynne Roberts. "I'm confident this will be her best season." 
 
"The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is proud to honor and celebrate both men and women at all levels of the game," said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. "The individuals being recognized this week on the Women's Starting Five watch lists have worked extremely hard to hone their craft and shining examples of why the future is so bright for our game. We look forward to evaluating this year's top point guards with Nancy Lieberman, a Hall of Famer who helped pave the way for today's female athletes."
 
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2022 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected. 
 
Gylten, a senior from Rapid City, S.D., enters the season 10th all-time in assists at Utah with 401. Gylten is two assists away from taking over ninth on the all-time list. She has started and played in 75 games for Utah. 
 
During the 2020-21 season, she started 15 games before her season was ended early because of an injury. Through 15 games, she ranked first in the Pac-12 in assists (78) and assists per game (5.2). She also ranked 23rd and 29th in the NCAA. She averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game to go with her assists last season. 
 
During her sophomore season, Gylten broke the 300-career assist mark, the fastest a sophomore has achieved in school history. She finished the season tied for second in the Pac-12 and 22nd in the country in total assists (159), third in Pac-12, and 23rd in the nation in assists per game (5.3). 
 
As a redshirt freshman, Gylten was named Pac-12 All-Freshman first-team by both the coaches and the media and was a two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. She averaged 8.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game in 30 games. She had five or more assists in 20 of Utah's 30 games. 
 
The Utes officially tip off the 2021-22 season with an exhibition game against Westminster on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
 
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