Desoto County Sports

Taylor on Lieberman Award preseason watch list

Award presented to the nation’s top point guard

Photo: Myah Taylor (#1) during a 2021 game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. (Photo credit: Austin Perryman)

As the anticipation amps up ahead of the 2022-23 basketball season, graduate transfer Myah Taylor earned herself a spot on the Nancy Lieberman Award watch-list as one of the nation’s top point guards, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced on Monday.

The native of Olive Branch joined the Rebels this offseason following a stellar career at Mississippi State, where she concluded her time as a Bulldog ranked sixth in total assists (445) and third in assists per game (3.9). This past season, Taylor led the SEC with 5.5 assists per game to rank 19th overall nationally.

In its 24th year, the Nancy Lieberman Award is presented to the nation’s top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play making and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman. 

The 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award winner will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five. 

Fans are also encouraged to participate in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds starting Friday, October 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected. 

Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (2022), Paige Bueckers, UConn (2021), Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (2018-20), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012-13), Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (2003-04) and Sue Bird, Connecticut (2000-02). 

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Hoophall Awards