Makayla Epps Named to Dawn Staley Award Midseason Watch List

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard Makayla Epps has been named one of 19 players to the 2017 Dawn Staley Award Midseason Watch List. The Dawn Staley Award is annually given to the most outstanding collegiate guard in the country. 

The Dawn Staley Award will be bestowed upon a player who exemplifies the skills that Staley possessed during her career: ball handling, scoring, the ability to distribute the basketball and a will to win. The award will be announced during the Final Four weekend in April, and the award ceremony will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia in April.

Epps is having a great season for Kentucky, leading the Wildcats in scoring by averaging 17.2 points per game. The senior also leads Kentucky with 89 assists and is third on the team with 22 steals. Epps has started all 24 games and ranks high in several national categories, including 38th nationally and third in the league in field-goals made and 49th nationally and second in the league in points scored with 413. 

For her career, Epps is moving into elite company sitting fifth all-time with 1,620 career points and eighth all-time with 379 career assists. Epps is the only player in program history to rank top eight on both lists. Currently, Epps is on a career-high tying streak of scoring 20 or more points in four straight games. The native of Lebanon, Ky., has scored in double figures 21 times this season and 82 times in her career. 

Epps is one of four players on the list from the Southeastern Conference.  Joining her are Morgan William (Mississippi State), Allisha Gray (South Carolina) and Diamond DeShields (Tennessee). 

UK returns to the court tomorrow night to square off against Georgia in Athens. The Wildcats are looking to continue its momentum from defeating Vanderbilt last Sunday in Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. inside Stegeman Coliseum, and will be broadcast on SECNetwork+ through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones and tablets. Fans can also listen to Neil Price on UK Sports Network, heard in Lexington on 630AM WLAP.  Free audio will also be available online at UKathletics.com.

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.