PRINCETON, N.J. -- Ivy League women’s basketball standouts Penn junior
Eleah Parker and Princeton senior
Bella Alarie are among the candidates for a pair of Basketball Hall of Fame/WBCA national postseason awards, the organizations announced. Both players are on the watch list for the
2020 Katrina McClain Award, given annually to the best power forward in Division I, while Parker is also a candidate for the
Lisa Leslie Award, which goes to the top center in the nation.
It marks the third-straight year that an Ivy earned a spot on the McClain Award watch list, as Penn’s
Michelle Nwokedi was a candidate for the inaugural award in 2018 and Alarie was included last season. Parker is the only player among the candidates for the five positional awards to be listed in two separate watch lists.
Parker and Alarie both earned unanimous first-team All-Ivy accolades in 2018-19, with Alarie also receiving Player of the Year for the second-straight season and Parker taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Parker ranked fifth in the League in scoring, first in rebounding, second in field goal percentage and first in blocks last season while leading the Quakers to a share of the Ivy League title. On top of being named first-team All-Ivy and Defensive Player of the Year, she also received Big 5 Player of the Year. Parker averaged 15.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game as the Quakers reached the Ivy League Tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the Postseason WNIT. This past summer, Parker was one of just 36 collegiate players invited to the U.S. Pan American Games Women's Basketball Team Trials.
Alarie also took home AP and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America accolades last season after leading Princeton to a share of the Ivy League title, the Ivy Madness championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament last year. She broke the team's single-season record for points per game (22.8) and became the first player since Ellen DeVoe in 1984-85 to average a double-double for an entire campaign. In the summer, Alarie helped her country earn a silver medal at the Pan American Games. She also led her team make the semifinals at the 3x3 stop in Italy, the quarterfinals in China and the semifinals at the national event in Las Vegas.
The Selection Committee for the Katrina McClain Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Katrina McClain Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. McClain-Pittman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
The winner of the 2020 Katrina McClain Power Forward Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020.
2020 Katrina McClain Award Candidates*
| Cate Reese |
Arizona |
| Unique Thompson |
Auburn |
| Lauren Cox |
Baylor |
| Summer Hemphill |
Buffalo |
| Sara Rhine |
Drake |
| Leaonna Odom |
Duke |
| Kiah Gillespie |
Florida State |
| Peyton Williams |
Kansas State |
| Ayana Mitchell |
LSU |
| Stephanie Jones |
Maryland |
| Naz Hillmon |
Michigan |
| Taiye Bello |
Minnesota |
| Ruthy Hebard |
Oregon |
| Brooklyn McDavid |
Pacific |
| Eleah Parker |
Pennsylvania |
| Bella Alarie |
Princeton |
| Francesca Belibi |
Stanford |
| Joyner Holmes |
Texas |
| N'dea Jones |
Texas A&M |
| Hanna Crymble |
Vermont |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season