COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – UConn women’s basketball standout Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.) has been named the 2013 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year for the second time in her career. Stewart, who earned a fifth gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Championship last summer, also received the honor in 2011. At 19 years old, she becomes the youngest repeat recipient of the award and one of only five athletes to earn the honor on multiple occasions.
USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year Award was established in 1980 to recognize a USA Basketball athlete who, during the year of the award, made a significant impact on the success of her team’s performance. The USA Basketball Board of Directors is responsible for selecting its annual awards.
“It’s a great honor,” said the UConn sophomore. “I love competing with USA Basketball and have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to do that for the last several years. I’m so happy and thankful that USA Basketball has given me all the opportunities it has to travel abroad and learn a lot.”
Earning the award for the first time as a Husky, Stewart joins Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles as the third Connecticut player to be recognized as the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. Taurasi, a three-time recipient of the award, has alternated earning the honors with Stewart over the past four years (2012, 2010, 2006). In 2009 Tina Charles began a span of five consecutive years in which Huskies have garnered Female Athlete of the Year laurels.
Stewart has excelled on the international stage, most recently leading USA to a perfect 9-0 record and a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship alongside UConn teammates Moriah Jefferson (Glen Heights, Texas) and Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook, Ill.). The 6-foot-4-inch forward led Team USA in nearly every category en route to the top of the podium, averaging 16.9 points and 6.2 rebounds, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from 3-point range. The superb performance guided Stewart to MVP honors at the conclusion of the tournament.
Stewart owns several distinguished accomplishments in USA Basketball, being one of only three U.S. female athletes to have played in two USA U19 World Championship Teams. She also left her mark on the USA U19 scoring records, setting the program’s competition record for most points with 152. Her 26 points against Lithuana on July 18 marked the second-highest individual game total in the history of the USA U19 squad.
Following an exceptional rookie campaign that saw her crowned a National Champion and just the fourth freshman in history to be tabbed as the 2013 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Stewart has been nothing short of dominant for the Huskies this season. Stewart leads the team in scoring, and blocks, averaging 18.1 points and 2.7 blocks per game. In UConn’s 15 games so far this season, Stewart has recorded 13 double-digit point contests including six 20-plus point performances. The sophomore logged four consecutive double-doubles in December, matching her career-high along the way with 29 points against No. 20 California at Madison Square Garden.
Stewart adds USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year to the growing list of accolades she has acquired this season. Prior to the start of game play, the American Athletic Conference selected Stewart as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year. The Associated Press named Stewart and teammate Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) to the Preseason All-American team. Stewart’s name can be found on the Naismith, Wade, and Wooden Award Watch Lists. Most recently, Stewart earned American and USBWA National Player of the Week attention on Dec. 24.
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