Jan. 22, 2013

John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike was among the players named to the John R. Wooden Award's Midseason Top 20, Los Angeles Athletic Club President Steve Hathaway announced Tuesday.

The announcement marks the second straight season in which Ogwumike, a consensus preseason All-American and national player of the year candidate in 2012-13, has been named to the award's midseason list.

The 2012 All-American from Cypress, Texas is well on her way to earning a second straight nod this year, averaging 22.0 points and 11.9 rebounds a game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. All three of those figures rank seventh nationally, making Ogwumike the only player among the national top 10 of all three categories. Her scoring average also tops the Pac-12 while she sits second in both rebounding and field-goal percentage and third with an 85.7 free-throw percentage.

In eight games against Top-25 teams (at the time of meeting) this season, Ogwumike is averaging 20.9 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 82.1 percent from the line as Stanford is 6-2 in those games. The Cardinal also paces the nation with 11 wins away from home, owning a perfect 11-0 mark away from Maples Pavilion.

Her dominant start to 2012-13 has led Stanford to a 16-2 overall mark and currently a share for the Pac-12 lead with a 5-1 conference record. On Nov. 19, Ogwumike was named espnW's inaugural National Player of the Week after pacing the Cardinal to a 71-69 win over then-No. 1/1 Baylor at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine in Honolulu and the tournament crown, a performance which surged the Cardinal to the top spot in the national rankings for the first time since March 2005, a spot it held for six weeks.

She has thrice been named Pac-12 Player of the Week this season (Nov. 12, Nov.19, Dec. 24), upping her career total to six. On the season she ranks fourth in the nation and tops in the Pac-12 with 13 double-doubles to go with 13 20-point games, highlighted by a career-best 31 points Dec. 15 against Pacific. At Tennessee on Dec. 22, Ogwumike grabbed a career-best 19 rebounds, setting the record for most rebounds by a Lady Volunteer opponent at Thompson-Boling Arena as the Cardinal beat Tennessee in Knoxville for just the second time in program history.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top five players, will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year will be announced on April 12, 2013, at The Los Angeles Athletic Club as part of the 37th annual Wooden Award Gala.