LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The four Connecticut women’s basketball players who earned a spot on the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List have retained their status on the now-narrowed Top-20 Midseason List. The UConn Huskies quartet of Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, and Breanna Stewart, who all average double figures for the Huskies, represent the American Athletic Conference along with Louisville’s Shoni Schimmel. UConn leads all universities with four selections, while three players hail from Notre Dame and two from Duke.
Dolson has posted big numbers so far in her senior season, making history with UConn’s second triple-double against Oregon (26 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists) on Nov. 20. Dolson averages 13.2 points per contest and, against Houston, set a career-high with eight blocks. The senior then matched that performance with eight blocks in the team’s subsequent game against Temple. Dolson eclipsed 1,500 career points against Memphis on Jan. 4, joining fellow senior Bria Hartley and becoming the third set of UConn classmates to net 1,500 career tallies.
Hartley, who was just named to the 2014 Lieberman Award Watch List earlier this week, averages 13.9 points per game and 4.4 assists per game. The senior hsa scored 20-plus points in three contests this season, including a career-high tying 29 points against Penn State on Nov. 17 to help her earn Conference Player of the Week Honors from the American.
After suffering an injury that sidelined her for eight games, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis returned to the court against No. 2 Duke on Dec. 17 and wasted little time returning to form as the NCAA’s reigning 3-point shooter. The junior set a career-high by making seven 3-pointers, finishing with 21 total points against the Blue Devils. The California native is averaging 11.1 points and 1.5 assists per game.
Stewart leads the squad from a statistical standpoint, averaging 18.1 points per game and 2.7 blocks per contest. In what has been an excellent sophomore campaign she has tied her career-high in points (29 against then-No. 21 Cal), blocked shots (6 against Houston), and set a career-best with 13 rebounds against UC-Davis. Stewart has recorded five double-double games and scored more than 20 points on seven occasions this season. She has been named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week twice (Dec. 23, Jan. 13), WBCA National Player of the Week (Dec. 24), and, for the second time in three years, received USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year Award.
2013-14 John R. Wooden Award® Midseason Top 20 List, Women
| Name | Height | Class | Position | University | Conference |
| Natalie Achonwa | 6-3 | Sr. | F | Notre Dame | ACC |
| Rachel Banham | 5-9 | Jr. | G | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| Brittany Boyd | 5-9 | Jr. | G | California | Pac-12 |
| Hallie Christofferson | 6-3 | Sr. | F | Iowa State | Big 12 |
| Jerica Coley | 5-8 | Sr. | G | FIU | Conference USA |
| Diamond DeShields | 6-1 | Fr. | G | North Carolina | ACC |
| Stefanie Dolson | 6-5 | Sr. | C | UConn | The American |
| Chelsea Gray* | 5-11 | Sr. | G | Duke | ACC |
| Bria Hartley | 5-8 | Sr. | G | UConn | The American |
| Jordan Hooper | 6-2 | Sr. | F | Nebraska | Big Ten |
| Jewell Loyd | 5-10 | So. | G | Notre Dame | ACC |
| Maggie Lucas | 5-10 | Sr. | G | Penn State | Big Ten |
| Kayla McBride | 5-11 | Sr. | G | Notre Dame | ACC |
| Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis | 6-0 | Jr. | F | UConn | The American |
| Chiney Ogwumike# | 6-4 | Sr. | F | Stanford | Pac-12 |
| Theresa Plaisance | 6-5 | Sr. | F | LSU | SEC |
| Shoni Schimmel | 5-6 | Jr. | G | Louisville | The American |
| Odyssey Sims# | 5-8 | Sr. | G | Baylor | Big 12 |
| Breanna Stewart | 6-4 | So. | F | UConn | The American |
| Alyssa Thomas | 6-2 | Sr. | F | Maryland | ACC |
| Elizabeth Williams | 6-3 | Jr. | C/F | Duke | ACC |
(Based on a midseason poll. Players listed alphabetically.)
# indicates player chosen to the 2013 Wooden Award All American Team
*Gray selected based on play prior to season-ending injury
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