ATLANTA – The Atlanta Tipoff Club released the midseason list of players to watch for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, presented by Bona, on Friday morning. The list had a little Irish flair with graduate student Brianna Turner among the 15 student-athletes named.
Turner, who is a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, continues to be that strong presence for the Irish down on the defensive end of the court. This season, Turner is averaging 2.4 blocks per game, which leads all players in the ACC and ranks 22nd in the nation.
Turner has logged six games with four or more blocks this season, including a season best of five at Virginia Tech on Jan. 16. That same game, Turner surpassed the 300 career block milestone. The Texas native is currently chasing Notre Dame great Ruth Riley for the all-time mark (370 career blocks), sitting with 310 blocks heading into Sunday’s matchup at North Carolina.
The following is the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List presented by Bona:
Name | Class | Position | School | Conference |
Kristine Anigwe | Sr. | C/F | California | Pac-12 |
Shakira Austin | Fr. | F | Maryland | Big Ten |
Chastadie Barrs | Sr. | G | Lamar | Southland |
Kenisha Bell | Sr. | G | Minnesota | Big Ten |
Kalani Brown | Sr. | C | Baylor | Big 12 |
Lauren Cox | Jr. | F | Baylor | Big 12 |
Channon Fluker | Sr. | C | CSUN | Big West |
Megan Gustafson | Sr. | F | Iowa | Big Ten |
Ae’Rianna Harris | Jr. | F | Purdue | Big Ten |
Anriel Howard | Sr. | F | Miss St. | SEC |
Regan Magarity | Sr. | F | Virginia Tech | ACC |
Teaira McCowan | Sr. | C | Miss St. | SEC |
Taylor Murray | Sr. | G | Kentucky | SEC |
Caliya Robinson | Sr. | F | Georgia | SEC |
Brianna Turner | Gs. | F | Notre Dame | ACC |
— ND —