FARMVILLE, Va. – After helping guide the Longwood women's basketball team to a record-setting season in 2019-20,
Tra'Dayja Smith was honored as one of the top 20 point guards in the nation on Monday afternoon. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association placed Smith on the preseason watch list for the
2021 Nancy Lieberman Award.
Smith becomes the first player in Longwood history (and second in Big South history) to earn a spot on the preseason watch list. The award, named after Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, goes to the top point guard in the country, and to be selected, a candidate must exhibit floor leadership, play-making and ball handling skills.
"As we recruited Tra'Dayja, we were very clear in the process about everything we needed from her, and she has more than delivered on all of the requests we made, both in terms of her ability to lead our program and her ability to be dynamic," said Longwood women's basketball third-year head coach
Rebecca Tillett. "It takes a really skilled point guard to be able to manage a lot of talented scorers, and she does that innately."
Making history at Longwood is nothing new for Smith, as she helped lead the team to one of the biggest turnarounds in the NCAA last season, with the team's nine-win improvement paving the way for the team to host a Big South conference tournament game for the first time in team history. In addition, the Madisonville, Texas native ranked fourth in the NCAA with 6.5 assists per game while shattering Longwood's single-season record for assists with 188. She also notched the first triple-double in team history and was one of just 22 players in the NCAA to record a triple-double in the season.
The winner of the 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award will be presented on April 9, 2021, after a three-round process that narrows the list from 20 to five. Fans can vote in each of the three rounds in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies, with voting opening up on Friday, November 13. Players can play themselves on and off the list, and the list will be narrowed from 20 to 10 in early February. In early March, the list is trimmed again to the five finalists that will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
"In our sport, so much recognition is given to scorers," Tillett said. "For her to be able to help us elevate our offense to be one of the top offenses in the Big South while remaining a true point guard, with the high-achieving quality of making every single person around her better, has been special. To our fans, go vote for her! Let's help keep her name in the mix."
Past winners feature a who's who list of the top players in collegiate women's basketball, including Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon, 2018-20), Kelsey Plum (Washington, 2017), Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut, 2015-16), Odyssey Sims (Baylor, 2014), Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame, 2012-13), Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga, 2011), Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State, 2010), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut, 2009), Kristi Toliver (Maryland, 2008), Lindsey Harding (Duke, 2007), Ivory Latta (North Carolina, 2006), Temeka Johnson (LSU, 2005), Diana Taurasi (Connecticut, 2003-04) and Sue Bird (Connecticut, 2000-02).
2021 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates*
| Destiny Slocum |
Arkansas |
| DiDi Richards |
Baylor |
| Dyaisha Fair |
Buffalo |
| Micaela Kelly |
Central Michigan |
| Paige Bueckers |
Connecticut |
| Tiana England |
Florida State |
| Ali Patberg |
Indiana |
| Tra'Dayja Smith |
Longwood |
| Hailey Van Lith |
Louisville |
| Amy Dilk |
Michigan |
| Myah Taylor |
Mississippi State |
| Raina Perez |
NC State |
| Cece Hooks |
Ohio |
| Diamond Johnson |
Rutgers |
| Nevena Dimitrijevic |
St. Francis - Brooklyn |
| Tiana Mangakahia |
Syracuse |
| Lauren Heard |
TCU |
| Kyra Lambert |
Texas |
| Dru Glyten |
Utah |
| Katia Gallegos |
UTEP |
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