SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced its watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award on Tuesday with Notre Dame senior Arike Ogunbowale among the 20-players recognized.
It marks the second straight year for Ogunbowale on the watch list, reaching as far as a top-five finalist for the award last season.
Last year, Ogunbowale started all 38 games en route to a national championship, netting double figures in all but one game. Furthermore, Ogunbowale scored more points (791) in a single season than anyone in school history.
The Milwaukee native finished the season strong, tallying 20-plus points in six of the last eight games. Ogunbowale averaged 24.2 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and 22.5 points during the Final Four. In fact, her 145 total points during the six-game tournament run stood as the fifth most all-time in Division I and the most in Notre Dame history.
Ogunbowale will forever be remembered for her ‘Ice Twice’ shots, but the now senior had been clutch in the final quarter all season. Ogunbowale averaged a team best 6.3 points in the fourth quarter alone, where she shot an impressive 53.5 percent from the field, reaching double-digit points seven times over the final 10 minutes of the game.
Ogunbowale, who sits with 1,777 career points, will continue to leave her mark in Irish lore for the 2018-19 season, where she looks to challenge Skylar Diggins-Smith’s all-time scoring record of 2,357 career points.
For more information on the 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, visit www.hoophallawards.com.
2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Candidates
| Chloe Jackson | Baylor |
| Darby Maggard | Belmont |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | Connecticut |
| Candice White | Fresno St. |
| Dionna White | Georgetown |
| Shakyla Hill | Grambling St. |
| Mikayla Ferenz | Idaho |
| Maci Morris | Kentucky |
| Asia Durr | Louisville |
| Allazia Blockton | Marquette |
| Destiny Pitts | Minnesota |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame |
| Teniya Page | Penn St. |
| Jovana Nogic | Providence |
| Kitija Laksa | South Florida |
| Jessica Kovatch | St. Francis |
| Kiana Williams | Stanford |
| Kennedy Burke | UCLA |
| Aliyah Mazyck | USC |
| Amber Melgoza | Washington |
*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2018-19 season*
— ND —