Though Paige Bueckers is just a freshman, her stellar play on the court for UConn this season has made waves across the country, and garnered her a spot on the Nancy Lieberman Award finalists list.
The award, named after Hall of Famer and women's basketball legend Nancy Lieberman, is given to the top point guard in the nation every year.
Bueckers is having one of, if not the best freshman seasons in UConn history. She's averaging 20.1 points, 6.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.45 steals per game.
Entering last weekend, Bueckers led UConn in points, assists, steals and three-point percentage.
In last Saturday's game vs. Butler, Bueckers set two assists records: The most assists by a freshman in a season (130 and counting) and the most assists in a game by any year (14).
Her competition for the award are:
Aari McDonald, Senior, Arizona
Didi Richards, Senior, Baylor
Caitlin Clark, Freshman, Iowa
Tiana Mangakhia, Redshirt Senior, Syracuse
Since the award was created in 2000, a UConn point guard has won it a record eight times.
Sue Bird won the award in its inaugural season and the two thereafter. She was followed immediately by Diana Taurasi, who won it the next two seasons.
Renee Montgomery won the award in 2009, before Moriah Jefferson won it in back-to-back seasons from 2015-2016.
If Bueckers goes on to become the fifth UConn point guard to win the award, that starting five would be a tough matchup to go against, no matter who you put on the other end of the floor.
