University of North Carolina Athletics

Bailey Selected For Leslie Award Watch List
November 13, 2020 | Women's Basketball
For the third year in a row, UNC women's basketball senior Janelle Bailey has been named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, recognizing her as one of the nation's top centers. The 20-member watch list will be narrowed to 10 candidates in February.
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Fans can vote on the award, as well as other "Starting Five" honors at www.hoophallawards.com. To vote, click here.
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Bailey, who was a top-10 candidate for the award in her sophomore and junior years, recently was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Last season, she earned All-ACC honors as she averaged 14.5 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game, both in the conference's top 10.
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The Leslie Award is presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Â Leslie, who played at Southern California, was the 1994 National Player of the Year and a three-time All-America for USC. She went on to a successful professional career in the WNBA and won four Olympic gold medals representing the U.S. She was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2015.
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The annual award, now in its fourth year, recognizes the top centers in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
2021 Lisa Leslie Award Candidates*
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*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2020-21 season
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Fans can vote on the award, as well as other "Starting Five" honors at www.hoophallawards.com. To vote, click here.
Â
Bailey, who was a top-10 candidate for the award in her sophomore and junior years, recently was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Last season, she earned All-ACC honors as she averaged 14.5 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game, both in the conference's top 10.
Â
The Leslie Award is presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Â Leslie, who played at Southern California, was the 1994 National Player of the Year and a three-time All-America for USC. She went on to a successful professional career in the WNBA and won four Olympic gold medals representing the U.S. She was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2015.
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The annual award, now in its fourth year, recognizes the top centers in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
2021 Lisa Leslie Award Candidates*
Queen Egbo | Baylor |
Hannah Gusters | Baylor |
Sara Hamson | BYU |
Olivia Nelson-Ododa | Connecticut |
Jade Williams | Duke |
Kristin Scott | Iowa State |
Ameshya Williams | Jackson State |
Ayoka Lee | Kansas State |
Elissa Cunane | NC State |
Kate Cain | Nebraska |
Janelle Bailey | North Carolina |
Shakira Austin | Ole Miss |
Eleah Parker | Penn |
Nancy Mulkey | Rice |
Kamilla Cardoso | Syracuse |
Antoinette Lewis | South Alabama |
Aliyah Boston | South Carolina |
Charli Collier | Texas |
Ila Lane | UC Santa Barbara |
Elizabeth Kitley | Virginia Tech |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2020-21 season
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