STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford senior Brittany McPhee is one of 50 players under consideration for the 2018 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Wednesday.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, which have become the most prestigious national honors in all of college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy recognizes the top Men's and Women's College Basketball Players of the Year. The midseason list of 30 will be announced Feb. 12.
McPhee, averaging 16.5 points per game, started her year with 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting in the opener at No. 5 Ohio State. She also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals in what was her 10th career 20-point performance and fourth against a ranked opponent.
McPhee had a breakout junior campaign and was named All-Pac-12 and to the Lexington Regional All-Tournament Team. She was second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game and improved her scoring average by 6.8 points over her sophomore season.
McPhee scored in double figures 25 times, had seven 20-point efforts and led Stanford offensively in its run to the program's 13th Final Four, averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game and making 44.4 percent from behind the arc in the NCAA Tournament. Among a number of memorable performances, she scored 19 of her game-high 27 in the second half of the Cardinal's 16-point comeback win against No. 2 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.
A human biology major with a 3.73 cumulative GPA, McPhee was also honored at the 2017 Final Four as women's basketball's Elite 90 award winner, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.
McPhee has missed the past five games with a right foot injury and is day-to-day. She is also a candidate for this year's Ann Meyers Drysdale and John R. Wooden Awards.
Stanford has had two players take home the Naismith National Player of the Year honors, Jennifer Azzi in 1990 and Kate Starbird in 1997.