SAN FRANCISCO - The year-end Pac-12 Women’s Basketball All-Conference and Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva, were announced Monday. ARIZONA’s Aari McDonald has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, while also being named the Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year alongside STANFORD’s Anna Wilson. WASHINGTON STATE’s Charlisse Leger-Walker earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, and STANFORD’s Lacie Hull was tabbed the Sixth Player of the Year. STANFORD head coach Tara VanDerveer has been named the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

 

 

McDonald (Fresno, Calif.) becomes the second Pac-12 Player of the Year in Arizona program history, joining current head coach Adia Barnes in 1998. McDonald has scored in double figures in 85-straight contests, which is the longest streak in league history as well as the longest active streak in NCAA Division I, and is tied for the Conference lead in points per game with 19.4. Her 2,128 career points are the 15th-most in Pac-12 history and the most among active NCAA players. In addition to being one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, McDonald is also on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List, the Wooden Award Top 20, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 10, the Wade Trophy Watch List, and is a candidate for the Senior CLASS award as well as the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award. The senior joins former Stanford great Chiney Ogwumike (2013) as the only players in Pac-12 history to earn both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season.

 

 

 

McDonald (Fresno, Calif.) earns her second Pac-12 Defensive Player of Year award after leading the league with 2.7 steals per game for the second consecutive year. She helped Arizona hold its opponents to just 56.6 points per game, which ranks 29th in the country, and shoot just 37.5 percent from the field which ranks 61st in the nation. McDonald is also currently one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

 

 

Wilson (Seattle, Wash.) has started every game for a Stanford team which ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 53.0 points per game, and fourth in scoring margin with a 25.0 point differential. Wilson is averaging 1.5 steals per game and has held many of the league’s top scorers to single-digit points all season long. The Cardinal head to the Pac-12 Tournament with the No. 1 seed after securing its 24th Pac-12 regular-season title.

 

 

Leger-Walker, a guard from Waikato, New Zealand, earns the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honor after being named the league’s Freshman of the Week seven times this season, becoming the third player in Pac-12 history to earn the distinction seven-or-more times (California’s Kristine Anigwe 8x in 2015-16; Washington’s Kelsey Plum 7x in 2013-14). She is currently tied for the Conference lead with 19.6 points per game and posted 12 20+ point performances this season, the most in the league. Leger-Walker is the second Cougar ever to earn the honor, joining Aike Dietel in 1998, and is the 23rd player in Pac-12 history to be named to the All-Pac-12 Team as a freshman. She led Washington State to three wins over top-25 teams and its first winning season since 2014-15.

 

 

Hull (Spokane, Wash.) made 21-of-22 appearances off the bench for regular-season champion Stanford and provided the Cardinal with key presence on both sides of the floor all season long. Hull is averaging 17 minutes and a 43.4 shooting percentage from the floor, while contributing 2.7 boards per game and a 1.9 assist to turnover ratio.

 

 

VanDerveer is the John R. Wooden Coach of the Year for the 16th time in her illustrious career after leading Stanford to its 24th Pac-12 regular-season title. VanDerveer reached new heights this season, surpassing Pat Summitt to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history, a record which now stands at 1,116 career victories. The Cardinal have been ranked in the top-six of the national rankings every week this season, including a No. 1 overall ranking for six-straight weeks. Under her tutelage, Stanford went 13-1 on the road this year as local health restrictions forced the Cardinal to play away from their home court for nine weeks. Despite the unprecedented challenges, Stanford still boasted three players on the All-Pac-12 Team, earned the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, and is projected as a No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

 

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least one point): Trinity Baptiste, ARIZ (Sr., F); Erin Boley, ORE (Sr., F); Cameron Brink, STAN (Fr., F); Natalie Chou, UCLA (R-Sr., G); Taya Hanson, ASU (Jr., G); Kemery MartÍn, UTAH (So., G); Brynna Maxwell, UTAH (So., G); Alissa Pili, USC (So., F); Jordan Sanders, USC (Gr., F); Haley Van Dyke, WASH (Jr., F).

 

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least one point): Sasha Goforth, OSU (Fr., G); Aleah Goodman, OSU (Sr., G); Taya Hanson, ASU (Jr., G); Taylor Jones, OSU (So., F); Krystal Leger-Walker, WSU (R-Sr., G); Nyara Sabally, ORE (R-So., F); Haley Van Dyke, WASH (Jr., F). 

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least one point): Dalayah Daniels, CAL (G/F); Frida Formann, COLO (G); Amaya Oliver, USC (G/F); Talia von Oelhoffen, OSU (G); Lauren Ware, ARIZ (F).