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Leger-Walker Named a Top-10 Finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Award

Feb 8, 2022

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced Tuesday, Feb. 8, that Washington State sophomore Charlisse Leger-Walker has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. The award recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Leger-Walker made the cut to the top-10 and will await to see if she becomes one of the five finalists for the honor with the final list coming out in early March.

Named after the first player, male or female, named to an All-America Team in four-straight college seasons, the annual Ann Meyers Drysdale award in its fifth year and recognizes the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which has now been narrowed to just 10.

Leger-Walker was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List back in October. The Waikato, New Zealand native has demonstrated why she earned the accolade throughout the 2021-22 season. Leger-Walker is currently leading the Pac-12 Conference in points scored (361) and field goals made (130). Both marks also rank inside the top-75 nationally in each category, as Leger-Walker has scored the 67th-most points in the country this season, while she has made the 74th-most shots from the field.

This season, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year is leading Washington State in scoring at 17.2 points per game, which is also the second-highest scoring average in the nation. Leger-Walker has scored double-digits in 18 of her 21 games played this season, while her eight 20-plus-point performances is tied with California's Jayda Curry for the most 20-point games collected by a Pac-12 player this season.

The shooting guard recently scored a career-high 30 points in Friday's win at Colorado. Leger-Walker became only the ninth WSU player to have a 30-point performance on the road. She shot a blistering 50% from the field in the win over the Buffaloes, as she connected on 9-of-18 from the field. Leger-Walker hasn't only been an offensive threat this season, as her 35 steals are the sixth-most in the Pac-12.

Leger-Walker becomes the second WSU women's basketball player to be named a finalist for one of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame top position player awards. The program's all-time leading scorer Borislava Hristova was named one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Cheryl Miller Award.

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late February, the watch list of 10 players for the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to five. In March those finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five.

Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Ashley Owusu, Maryland (2021), Aari McDonald, Arizona (2020), Asia Durr, Louisville (2019) and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).

For more information on the Washington State women's basketball team, follow @WSUCougarWBB on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.