Women's Basketball

Arkansas State’s Higginbottom and Georgia Southern’s Ward Named to Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Watch List

HOPEWELL, N.J. — Arkansas State’s Izzy Higginbottom and Georgia Southern’s Terren Ward are two of 15 players named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award midseason watch list presented by Her Hoop Stats on Wednesday. 
 
The Becky Hammon Award was first given out in 2020, with South Dakota's Ciara Duffy named the inaugural winner. FGCU's Kierstan Bell won the award in 2021 and 2022, and Massachusetts’ Sam Breen won the most recent award in 2023. This year's midseason watch list includes representatives from 14 teams and 10 conferences. The Sun Belt is one of five conferences to place two players on the watch list, along with the MEAC, Mountain West, Missouri Valley, and WCC. 
 
In her second season suited up for the Red Wolves, Izzy Higginbottom is averaging a team-high 21.5 points per game, a mark that ranks third in the conference and 12th nationally. The junior guard has scored 20+ points in eight of 14 games this season and has reached the 30-point mark three times. The Batesville, Ark., native, is also one of the most efficient players in the Sun Belt, connecting on 102-of-204 (50%) from the field, the fourth-best mark in the conference. Higginbottom has been hard to guard as opponents have sent her to the line for 102 attempts, which is currently ranked for 15th most attempts in the NCAA. Additionally, Higginbottom has gone for 92-of-102 from the charity stripe, also good for second in the Sun Belt and 16th nationally. 
 
Terren Ward has had a standout senior campaign for Georgia Southern thus far, helping lead the Eagles to a 13-4 overall record and 3-2 mark in Sun Belt play. The Jesup, Ga., native is averaging a conference-best 23.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Ward also leads the way, and ranks second nationally, collecting 13 double-doubles in 17 games this season. The senior guard/forward, who boasts four Sun Belt weekly honors in 2023-24, enters week four of league action having scored 20+ points in nine of her last 10 outings.

About Becky Hammon
Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program's only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career. Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016 she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was recently named to the W25. 
 
Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League as well as the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff. Currently, Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces and won the 2022 and 2023 WNBA Championships.
 
2024 Becky Hammon Player of the Year Candidates
Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State
McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State
Abbey Hsu, Columbia
Katie Dinnebier, Drake
Meghan Anderson, Fairfield
Terren Ward, Georgia Southern 
Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Katelyn Young, Murray State
Diamond Johnson, Norfolk State
Kierra Wheeler, Norfolk State
Tess Heal, Santa Clara
Khari Clark, Stony Brook
Mia Moore, UAB
Desi-Rae Young, UNLV
Rachael Rose, Wofford