The Annual John R. Wooden Award was founded in 2004 and is presented annually to the top female basketball player of the year based on voting. It is considered the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. A'ja Wilson of South Carolina took home this honor on Friday night in Los Angeles, CA.
The Wooden Award All American Team is made up of five of the top vote winners and female basketball players across the country which consisted of: Asia Durr (Louisville), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn), Gabby Williams (UConn) and A'ja Wilson (South Carolina).
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Women's All-American Team Finalists: 2017-2018
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Asia Durr, Louisville
The 5-foot-10 junior guard was the ACC Player of the Year and finished the season averaging 18.7 points, shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the three point line and 44 percent from the field. She was also named a WBCA, USA Today, Associated Press First Team All American and ESPNW Second Team.
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Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
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Oregon Athletics[/credit]
The youngest of all finalists, as a sophomore holds the NCAA record for career triple doubles at eight. The Pac-12 Player of the Year continues to collect honors and was recently named the Nancy Liberman Point Guard of the Year. She led the Pac-12 in both scoring and assists.
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Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
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UConn Athletics[/credit]
The highly decorated junior led Connecticut's top-ranked offense averaging 17.4 points per game and she led the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 47.5 percent. This season, was named the AAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season along with WBCA, USBWA, Associated Press First Team-All American.
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Gabby Williams, UConn
With over 1,500 career points, 1,000 career rebounds, 400 assists and 300 steals, the 5'11 forward was recently named the first ever Cheryl Miller Award winner, a two-time WBCA All American and the Senior CLASS Award winner. She will complete her collegiate career as a two-time National Champion and will head into her professional career as a likely first-round draft pick.
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A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
In the official sweep of the National Player of the Year Awards, Wilson claims the prestigious Wooden Award to her trophy case. The SEC Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player averaged 22.6 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. She had 24 double-doubles in her senior season campaign. She completed her career as one of the most highly decorated players in program history and led her team to a 2017 National Championship.
The six-foot-five forward is the highly likely No. 1 draft pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
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NEXT: 2018 WNBA Mock Draft: Wilson, Mitchell, Stevens Among Top Picks
