The University of Mississippi Athletics
Thomas Added To State Farm Wade Watch List
1/28/2010 | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA, Ga. - Ole Miss senior guard Bianca Thomas was one of seven players added to the 2009-2010 State Farm Wade Watch list the State Farm Wade Trophy Committee announced Thursday.
Thomas joins James Madison's Dawn Evans, Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin, Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogumike, Notre Dame's Lyndsay Schrader, Tennessee's Shekinna Stricklen and Duke's Jasmine. The seven student-athletes are all added to the existing 25 player pool selected during the preseason.
The committee added the list of seven student-athletes to the State Farm Wade Watch based on each player's successful on-court performances this season.
Thomas joins the Wade Watch after leading the Rebels and ranking ninth in the nation in scoring with 22.4 points per game. The Henderson, Tenn., native also leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game and ranks fifth in the nation with 3.4 three-pointers per game.
The 5-foot-10 guard is tied for the school record for the most three-pointers made in a game with seven, something she has been able to do three times in her career at Ole Miss so far. Thomas has been named SEC Player of the Week and become the first Rebel in fourteen years to have five straight games with at least 20 points.
Thomas also set a new Tad Smith Coliseum record for points scored after finishing with a career-high 42 points Jan. 17 to lead Ole Miss to an upset win over LSU.
The renowned "Wade Watch" list for The State Farm Wade Trophy is comprised of student-athletes who are members of an NCAA Division I institution and are selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.
The State Farm Wade Watch list will be narrowed down to 12 finalists in mid-March. The State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be officially announced at the WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four, in San Antonio, Texas.
The Wade Trophy, named after the late, legendary three-time national champion Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. The Wade Trophy Coalition was established in June of 2000 when the WBCA partnered with The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).
For the past ten years the two have worked together to present The State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year Award. A committee compromised of coaches, administration and media from across the United States selects the winner.
