Lincoln – Two-time All-American Jordan Hooper earned a spot on the preseason Wade Watch List for the second consecutive year when the 25 candidates for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s National Player of the Year were announced on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Hooper, a 6-2 senior forward from Alliance, Neb., is a two-time WBCA and Associated Press honorable-mention All-American and a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. She enters her senior season poised to become just the third player in Nebraska history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in her career, joining 1993 Wade Trophy winner Karen Jennings and 2010 first-team WBCA All-American Kelsey Griffin.
Hooper, who has scored 1,685 points and pulled down 811 rebounds in starting the first 98 games of her Husker career, is also in position to shatter the school’s three-point record. She enters her senior season with 215 made three-pointers, just 52 shy of the school record held by three-time first-team All-Big 12 guard Kiera Hardy (2004-07). Hooper has averaged nearly 72 three-pointers per season at Nebraska, including 81 a year ago when she helped shoot the Huskers to the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16.
Over the summer, Hooper helped the USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Team to a gold medal in Kazan, Russia. In the championship game, Hooper earned a start and scored nine points while grabbing nine rebounds while going head-to-head against several members of Russia’s 2012 Olympic Team.
Five of Hooper’s World University Games teammates joined her on the Wade Watch List, including Baylor senior Odyssey Sims, Louisville senior Shoni Schimmel, Oklahoma senior Aaryn Ellenberg, Connecticut junior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and LSU senior Theresa Plaisance.
Now in its 37th year, The Wade Trophy is named in honor of the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University coach, Lily Margaret Wade. Regarded as “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball,” the award is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year by the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and the WBCA.
The preseason list is composed of top NCAA Division I women’s basketball players who best embody Wade’s spirit from 18 institutions and seven conferences. A committee of coaches, administrators and media from across the United States compiled the list using the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team, and overall playing ability.
Hooper was one of three players from the Big Ten Conference to earn mention on the preseason Wade Watch List, joining Penn State’s Maggie Lucas and Minnesota’s Rachel Banham.
Hooper will make her first appearance with the Huskers of the 2013-14 season, when the women’s basketball team hosts Big Red Tip-OffTuesday on Oct. 15 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The event, which begins at 5 p.m., will include a sneak peek at a portion of Nebraska’s practice, introductions of the 2013-14 Huskers by Coach Connie Yori, an opportunity for fans to select their seats for season tickets, and autographs with the 2013-14 Huskers.
Nebraska tips off exhibition play in its first season at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday, Oct. 27, against Pittsburg State at 2 p.m.
Preseason Wade Watch List
| Player |
Institution |
Position |
Year |
| Natalie Achonwa |
Notre Dame |
Forward |
Senior |
| Rachel Banham |
Minnesota |
Guard |
Junior |
| Brittany Boyd |
California |
Guard |
Junior |
| Gennifer Brandon |
California |
Forward |
Senior |
| Jerica Coley |
FIU |
Guard |
Senior |
| Stefanie Dolson |
Connecticut |
Center |
Senior |
| Aaryn Ellenberg |
Oklahoma |
Guard |
Senior |
| Bashaara Graves |
Tennessee |
Forward |
Sophomore |
| Chelsea Gray |
Duke |
Guard |
Senior |
| Bria Hartley |
Connecticut |
Guard |
Senior |
| Jordan Hooper |
Nebraska |
Forward |
Senior |
| Maggie Lucas |
Penn State |
Guard |
Senior |
| Tyaunna Marshall |
Georgia Tech |
Guard |
Senior |
| Kayla McBride |
Notre Dame |
Guard |
Senior |
| Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis |
Connecticut |
Forward |
Junior |
| Chiney Ogwumike |
Stanford |
Forward |
Senior |
| Theresa Plaisance |
LSU |
Forward |
Senior |
| Ebony Rowe |
Middle Tennessee |
Forward |
Senior |
| Shoni Schimmel |
Louisville |
Guard |
Senior |
| Meighan Simmons |
Tennessee |
Guard |
Senior |
| Odyssey Sims |
Baylor |
Guard |
Senior |
| DeNesha Stallworth |
Kentucky |
Forward |
Senior |
| Breanna Stewart |
Connecticut |
Forward |
Sophomore |
| Alyssa Thomas |
Maryland |
Forward |
Senior |
| Elizabeth Williams |
Duke |
Center/Forward |
Junior
|