2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalists
2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalists
10 players named semifinalists for the second-annual Becky Hammon Award presented by Her Hoop Stats
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Hopewell, N.J. (Feb. 10, 2021)--We are proud to announce the 10 student-athletes that have been named semifinalists for the 2021 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. This year’s list of semifinalists includes representation from 10 schools and eight conferences.
Below are the 10 semifinalists, listed in alphabetical order by school. Stats are through the morning of February 8 and only include games played against Division I opponents.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo, G, So.
24.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.2 APG, 2.7 SPG
With all the focus on this season’s crop of freshmen, one of the most productive freshmen from the 2019-20 season has been putting up even better numbers in her sophomore campaign. Fair’s scoring, scoring efficiency, assists, rebounds have all improved over last year despite playing fewer minutes per game. The most important increase is in her scoring efficiency, where she improved from 0.94 to 1.02 points per scoring attempt (PPSA).
IImar'I Thomas, Cincinnati, F, Sr.
22.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.9 BPG
Thomas does a little bit of everything for Cincinnati, leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists. No other player in the country is averaging 22 points, eight boards, and three assists per game, and only three other players have done so since 2015-16. Thomas has either scored or assisted on 51.0% of Cincinnati’s field goals this season, one of only four players to account for more than 50%.
Kierstan Bell, FGCU, G, So.
22.2 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.6 APG, 2.2 BPG
Bell has continued to look great for FGCU, filling up the box score and leading the Eagles to a 13 game win streak after starting the season with two losses to ranked teams. Bell pours in points at an efficient clip, 1.31 PPSA, while also rebounding over 33% of opponents’ missed shots (No. 2 in the nation) and ranking No. 35 in the nation in blocks per game.
Blanca Millan, Maine, G, R-Sr.
22.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.9 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Millan has erased all doubts that she wouldn’t be the same player following her season-ending injury after only six games last season. Millan is scoring nearly five more points than her career average coming into this season in addition to career-highs in rebounding and assists.
Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tenn. St., G, R-Jr.
28.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.8 SPG
Hayes leads the nation in scoring by a comfortable margin, nearly 1.5 points ahead of the second-ranked player. The redshirt junior is one of two players in the country averaging over 25 points and five assists per game, the other player being Iowa’sCaitlin Clark. A huge reason for Hayes’ jump in scoring is her Division I-leading 11.4 free throw attempts per game.
Nancy Mulkey, Rice, C, Sr.
16.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.1 BPG
Mulkey had a challenging second half of the season in 2019-20 but has bounced back nicely this year. Rice hasn’t played a game since Jan. 16 due to a COVID-19 pause, but the senior center has averaged 4.5 more points and 1.8 rebounds per game than last year and is on pace to finish in the top-10 in the nation in blocks for the third-consecutive season.
Hannah Sjerven, South Dakota, C, Sr.
16.7 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.3 BPG
Sjerven is one of the most valuable players in the country on a per-minute basis (0.53 win shares per 40 minutes), and she has done it with very consistent production. In her two worst offensive games of the season--9 points vs. Kansas City and 10 points against South Dakota St.--Sjerven still contributed in other ways with 29 rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and four steals between those two games.
Myah Selland, South Dakota St., F, R-Jr.
19.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.5 BPG
Selland has been the biggest reason for South Dakota’s return to the top of the Summit League, including a sweep over the Coyotes last weekend to snap South Dakota’s 24-game league winning streak. The redshirt junior has been a highly efficient scorer her whole career, but this season she has been handed the keys to the offense to become the primary scorer.
Kionna Jeter, Towson, G, R-Sr.
26.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.5 SPG
Jeter, who has an incredible story as we mentioned in the midseason list, has continued to put up great scoring numbers through 11 games. The redshirt senior guard hasn’t scored fewer than 16 points in a game this season and has scored 24 or more points over her past five games.
Chelsey Perry, UT Martin, F, Sr.
25.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.9 BPG
Perry, the only one of the five 2020 finalists for this award who was not a senior, has increased her scoring volume and scoring efficiency over last season but has missed UT Martin’s past three games due to an injury that is reportedly day-to-day. Perry’s WNBA Draft stock has risen this season, but it will be interesting to see when she is able to return and continue leading the OVC-leading Skyhawks.
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 November, the 25 members of the preseason watch list were announced and the 15 members of the midseason watch list were announced in January. Five finalists will be announced in early March, and the winner will be announced in late March. 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. 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.
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, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.