Aug. 25, 2003
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame junior forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind./Washington H.S.) is one of 35 players who were named to the 2003-04 State Farm Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List, which was unveiled recently by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Based on a vote of committee members which include leading coaches, journalists and basketball administrators, these 35 players are considered the top candidates for the State Farm Wade Trophy, which will be presented to the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player at the conclusion of the ’03-04 season.
It marks the second time in the last two weeks that Batteast has been named a preseason candidate for national player-of-the-year honors. Back on Aug. 13, she was one of 30 players selected to the 2003-04 John R. Wooden Women’s Award Preseason All-America Team.
Batteast is a two-time all-BIG EAST Conference selection who started all 32 games for the Irish last season, leading the team in scoring (13.9 ppg.), rebounding (8.3 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.56 bpg.). She also ranked among the top 15 in the BIG EAST in those categories, as well as steals (1.97 spg.) and double-doubles (8). In addition, the 6-2 wing scored in double figures 26 times, topped the 20-point mark five times, and earned game-high rebounding honors of 14 occasions, all while helping guide Notre Dame to its fifth NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth in the last seven years.
In her brief two-year tenure with the Irish, Batteast already ranks among the school’s career leaders in scoring average (6th – 13.8 ppg.) and rebounding average (tie-3rd – 8.1 rpg.), and she is one of only five players in the program’s history to amass at least 800 points by the end of her sophomore season.
Batteast was one of five BIG EAST players named to the ’03-04 Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List, joining Rebekkah Brunson of Georgetown, Ieva Kublina of Virginia Tech, Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers and last year’s Wade Trophy recipient, Diana Taurasi of Connecticut.
The State Farm Wade Trophy, now in its 27th year, is named after Margaret Wade, the late Delta State University coach who won three national championship in the mid-1970s. The Wade Trophy is considered the one of the most prestigious individual awards in women’s college basketball and is organized by the WBCA, in conjunction with the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).
— ND —