Jan. 22, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard A’dia Mathies was named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Midseason Top 20 list announced today the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The list is comprised of 20 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November, December and January, are the frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.
Mathies, who was recognized as a top-15 finalist for the award last March, leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.4 ppg), 3-point field goals made (43) and 3-point percentage (.422), while ranking third on the squad in steals (1.6 spg), rebounds (4.3 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg). She has posted double-figure scoring in 17-of-19 games this season, including four with 20-plus points.
Mathies’ stellar play has turned up a notch in Southeastern Conference action as she currently leads the league in scoring with 19.8 points per game and is shooting a league-high .553 percent (21-of-38) from the 3-point line.
The 5-foot-9 guard has guided the Wildcats (18-1, 6-0 SEC) into the top five of both national polls, helped them win a nation-leading 17 straight games, and a school-record 33 consecutive home games. She ranks fourth overall on the all-time scoring chart and is the all-time leading scorer for a guard in UK Hoops history with 1,727 points.
Mathies is one of just two SEC players on the prestigious Wooden Award midseason list, along with Texas A&M junior center Kelsey Bone.
The Louisville, Ky., native is also on the watch list for several other national awards, including the Wade Trophy, the Naismith Trophy and the Senior CLASS Award.
The 36th annual Wooden Award Gala, will take place Friday, April 12, and will honor Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, All-Americans and the Legends of Coaching Award winner Bill Self of Kansas.
About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), Candace Parker (’07 and ’08), Kevin Durant (’09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut (’09 and ‘11).
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of the John R. Wooden Award Gala.
Follow the candidates and get the latest news throughout the season by logging on to www.WoodenAward.com or going to the Wooden Award facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WoodenAward. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please contact the Wooden Award staff at 213-630-5206 or via email at woodenaward@laac.net.
UK returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 24 when it travels to Columbia, S.C. to face No. 14 South Carolina (16-3, 4-2 SEC) at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on SportsSouth, FS Southwest and Sun Sports.
Follow UK Hoops on Twitter and Instagram at @UKHoopCats and on Facebook by liking University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball.
