Utah standout named a finalist for the Lieberman Award.
April 7, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - University of Utah women's basketball player Leilani Mitchell has been named one of the top three point guards in Division I this season, having finished the 2008 campaign as one of three finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award. In addition to that, Mitchell also earned honorable mention All-America honors from the WBCA.
The Lieberman Award recognizes the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. The criteria for the award are the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills that personified Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman during her career. Sportswriters from across the country determined the award winner and finalists.
The Rotary Club of Detroit named Maryland's Kristi Toliver this year's award winner.
Mitchell also earned her third All-America accolade, garnering honorable mention honors on the WBCA's Division I State Farm Coaches' All-America Team. Prior to that, Mitchell earned third team All-American by both the Associated Press and CBSsports.com earlier this month.
In addition to her All-America distinctions, Mitchell was named a regional finalist for the WBCA All-America team, and she won the Mountain West Conference Newcomer and Player of the Year awards in addition to first team all-conference accolades.
The Kennewick, Wash, native asserted herself as one of the top playmakers in the nation, dishing out a league-high 7.5 assists and averaging 16.8 points per game. Mitchell also has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.22, which also led the league. All of those numbers rank among the nation's elite as her assists-per-game average ranks fourth in the country and her assist-to-turnover ratio is eighth. Mitchell's scoring average ranks 71st among Division I players.
In all, Mitchell led the team in assists in all 32 games, in scoring 15 times, and in steals on 13 occasions.
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