Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike was named as one of the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club it learned Thursday.
Ogwumike is a semifinalist for the second straight year. The four finalists will be named on March 21.
The senior All-American, who earlier this week earned her eighth Pac-12 Player of the Week honor of 2013-14, has been well ahead of pace towards topping her career year of last year, when she was named a first team All-American.
Ogwumike is currently the only player in the country to rank in the national top 10 in scoring (26.5 ppg – third), rebounding (12.1 rpg – eighth), field-goal percentage (62.3 – third) and double-doubles (20 – eighth).
Ogwumike has established several conference and school records this season. She passed former teammate Kayla Pedersen’s figure of 1,266 career rebounds to become the all-time Pac-12 leader on Jan. 3, and currently has 1,459 rebounds.
She is also within range of adding the Pac-12’s all-time scoring mark to her collection. She’s in the second position, 119 points away from eclipsing former Stanford All-American Candice Wiggins’ current top mark of 2,629.
On Dec. 16 against New Mexico, Ogwumike became the fifth Stanford player to accumulate 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
Proving that she is as dominant in the classroom as she is on the court, Ogwumike last week was named Capital One Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
With a 3.46 grade-point average, Ogwumike will finish her academic requirements at the end of the current quarter and earn her bachelor’s degree in international relations.
Ogwumike, fellow seniors Sara James, Toni Kokenis and fifth-year senior Mikaela Ruef will be honored this weekend as Stanford completes the regular season by hosting Washington Thursday at 8 p.m. and Washington State for Senior Night Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Both games will air live on the Pac-12 Network.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics