LaSondra Barrett Earns Spot On 2010-11 Naismith Trophy Watch List

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LaSondra Barrett of the LSU Lady Tigers has been named to the watch list for the 2010-11 Naismith Trophy, which is presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Tuesday.

This year’s diverse list includes the top women’s college basketball players from 37 schools around the country. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2010-11 college basketball season.

The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded on April 4, 2011 at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Indianapolis. Seven Southeastern Conference players made the cut.

Barrett, a junior from Jackson, Miss., is a preseason first-team All-SEC selection by the league coaches and media. Barrett was LSU’s second-leading scorer as a sophomore when she averaged 12.8 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per contest.

For her career, she has posted 12.1 points per game and produced seven double-doubles. She led the SEC in free throw percentage last year at 84.4 percent. Barrett scored a team-high 14 points in 20 minutes of action in the Lady Tigers’ 67-47 exhibition win over Delta State on Monday night in Baton Rouge.

Barrett and LSU open the season at Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Evanston, Ill. It will represent the first of two consecutive games against Big 10 Conference teams as No. 7 Ohio State visits the Maravich Center for the Lady Tigers’ home opener on Nov. 17.

In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.

Posted by Bill Martin