UConn’s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (23) whispers to Breanna Stewart during the press conference for the Elite Eight Game in Albany, NY featuring the UConn Huskies and Dayton Flyers.
From UConn:
TAMPA, Fla. — With their team set to compete for the 2015 NCAA National Championship on Tuesday, University of Connecticut women’s basketball standouts Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) were selected as two of four finalists for the 2015 Honda Sports Award for women’s basketball, as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of the collegiate women sports awards, on Monday.
The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2015 Honda Cup. The Honda Cup winner will be announced on June 29th, during a live telecast from Los Angeles.
The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the Honda Sports award winner for basketball will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
The CWSA presents the Honda Sports Award annually to top women student-athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. Honda Sports award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sports award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 Honda Cup award presented in June.
Stewart, who won the award a season ago, was selected as the Associated Press, USBWA, and WBCA National Player of the Year this week during the Huskies’ trip to the Final Four.
At 1,952 career points Stewart stands at No. 11 on the program’s all-time scoring list. Additionally, she ranks fifth in Husky history with 284 career blocks. Since Stewart joined the program in the 2012-13 campaign, Connecticut owns a 112-5 (.957) overall record, including a 17-0 record in NCAA Tournament play, and has won two-straight national championships.
The Husky forward was named as the Albany Regional’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 27.0 points and 14.0 rebounds in a pair of UConn victories over Texas and Dayton. The 2014-15 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year has reached double-figure points in 16 of her 17 career NCAA Tournament games.
Mosqueda-Lewis, who picked up WBCA and USBWA All-America honors this week, became the NCAA’s all-time leader in made three point field goals (396) after connecting on seven against the Flyers on March 30. The Husky senior was one of three UConn players named to the All-Regional squad. She became the eighth member of UConn’s 2,000-point club when she notched 21 points against Memphis on Senior Day (Feb. 28).
UConn and Notre Dame will play for the 2015 NCAA championship on Tuesday, April 7. Tipoff is set for 8:45 p.m. on ESPN.
