Kelsey Plum Named Honda Sport Award Winner For Basketball
April 11, 2017 | Women's Basketball, Student-Athlete Academic Services
SEATTLE -- Kelsey Plum of the University of Washington women's basketball team was named the Honda Sport Award winner for basketball as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) Tuesday (April 11).
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 41 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". With this honor, Plum becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2017 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 26, 2017 in downtown Los Angeles, Calif.
Plum, who swept the 2017 national player of the year honors, was chosen by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Napheesa Collier (Connecticut), A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State).
Plum passed former Honda Cup winner Jackie Stiles as the NCAA all-time scoring leader, finishing her career with 3,527 points. She led the nation in scoring her season season, averaging 31.7 points per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and 88.8 percent from the foul line. This season she became the first player in Pac-12 history, female or male, to score 3,000 career points and broke the NCAA single-season scoring record with 1,109 points.
In addition to her scoring prowess, Plum also led the team in assists (168) and steals (52) while averaging 5.1 rebounds per game which was tied for second-most on this Washington squad that won a program-record 29 games.
"I am beyond excited for Kelsey," stated assistant coach Morgan Valley. "All she has accomplished in her career, both on and off the floor, she has earned. She is one of those special players and people we come across in this game. This is just the beginning for Kelsey and I congratulate her on this prestigious honor."
Basketball has produced the most Honda Cup winners with 16 student-athletes in the sport winning the prestigious honor, including last year's winner, Breanna Stewart from Connecticut.
Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year.
The CWSA, in its 41st year, honors the nation's top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.5 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.
