2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year presented by Her Hoop Stats Finalists
Five players named finalists for third season of award
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Hopewell, N.J. (March 9, 2022)–We are proud to announce the five finalists for the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota’s Ciara Duffy being named the inaugural winner. FGCU’s Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021. This year’s finalists include representatives from five schools and five conferences.
Below are the five finalists, listed in alphabetical order by school. Stats are through March 6 and only include games against other Division I opponents.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo, G, Jr.
2021-22 Stats: 23.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.0 SPG
Dyaisha Fair is continuing to do Dyaisha Fair things, ranking fifth in the country in scoring, dishing out more assists than 96% of the country, and even limiting turnovers compared to a year ago. Fair’s turnover rate has dropped from 9.9% down to 8.3%, vaulting her into the top-50 nationally. Fair’s 7.0 offensive Win Shares ranks 10th in the country and is her career-high.
Shaylee Gonzales, BYU, G, So.
2021-22 Stats: 18.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.4 SPG
Gonzales is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists while also averaging a career-low in turnovers. This jump has elevated Gonzales from a solidly above-average player to one of the most valuable players in the country this year on a per-minute basis. Gonzales’ Win Shares per 40 minutes of 0.45 ranks 17th nationally.
Jasmine Dickey, Delaware, G/F, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 25.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.9 SPG
Dickey’s 25.0 points per game ranks third in the nation, which is thanks in large part to her volume of free-throw trips. Only two players average more attempts from the line than Dickey, and only one player makes more free throws per game. Dickey also ranks in the top 50 in rebounds per game and in the top 150 in steals per game, all contributing to her 9.0 Win Shares which ranks 20th in the country.
Kierstan Bell, FGCU, G, Jr.
2021-22 Stats: 24.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.9 BPG
Bell, the reigning winner of this award, returned from injury on the day the semifinalist list was announced and has quickly returned to form. In each of her three games since returning, Bell has put up at least 22 points, three blocks, and two steals. If you remove the game where she sustained the injury and played just 16 minutes, Bell is averaging 25.5 points per game, which would slot in at third in the country.
Abby Meyers, Princeton, G, Sr.
2021-22 Stats: 17.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.5 SPG
On a per-minute basis, only five players have accumulated more Win Shares than Meyers. Meyers is an efficient scorer from inside and outside the arc. She is the only player this season shooting at least 45% from 2-point range on 200+ attempts, and 40% from 3-point range on 125+ attempts. The only players to accomplish that last year were Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. In October, 25 players were named to the preseason watch list. The 15-player midseason watch list was announced in January, and the 10 semifinalists were announced in February. The winner will be announced around the Final Four. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
About Becky Hammon
Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016 she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was recently named to the W25.
Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League as well as the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff. Currently, Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).