McBride Named to Senior CLASS Candidate List
1/8/2004 5:41:02 PM | Women's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Syracuse guard Julie McBride is one of 31 female candidates for the 2003-04 Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to the top senior male and female NCAA Division I Player of the Year.
McBride leads the Orangewomen in scoring at 17.6 points per contest so far this season. She is also the team leader with 4.5 assists per contest. McBride, a second-team preseason All-BIG EAST pick, is one of only four players to rank among the conference's top 10 in scoring and assists (Amber Jacobs, Boston College; Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers; Diana Taurasi, UConn). McBride has made a team-best 27 three-pointers this season and ranks second on the Orangewomen's all-time three-pointers list with 205.
McBride currently ranks third all-time at SU in career points and assists. She moved into third place on the scoring list with a game-high 23 points against Pittsburgh on January 7. McBride has 1,358 points, passing Holly Oslander (1,353). She is third on the assist ledger 509, only 22 short of breaking the Orangewomen's all-time record currently held by Raquel Nurse.
McBride is one of three BIG EAST players on the candidates list Rebekkah Brunson of Georgetown and Diana Taurasi of Connecticut are the others. The list also includes such senior standouts as Duke's Alana Beard, Vanderbilt's Jenni Benningfield, Colorado's Tera Bjorklund, Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen and Purdue's Shereka Wright.
The Senior CLASS Award, which is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, was first presented following the 2001-02 season. Juan Dixon of Maryland and Sue Bird of Connecticut were the inaugural winners. Last season's honorees were David West of Xavier and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.
The winner will be announced at the NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans. The winners will be presented their awards during the CLASS Tribute Gala hosted by the Pride of Kansas City Foundation on April 30.
