Peyton Williams Is On The Katrina McCLain Award Watch List
Kansas State junior forward Peyton Williams has received a national preseason accolade, as she has been named as one of the 20 power forwards in the nation selected for the Katrina McClain Award in an announcement from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Named after the two-time All-American and 1987 National Player of the Year, the annual award in its second year recognizes the top power forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
The Selection Committee for the Katrina McClain Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Katrina McClain Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. McClain-Pittman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist at www.hoophallawards.com.
The winner of the 2019 Katrina McClain Power Forward Award will be revealed on an ESPN platform during the 2019 Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Florida. Additional awards being presented and recognized at the WBCA Convention include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award. Also being awarded is the Wade Trophy, the sport’s oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award which is presented annually by the WBCA’s community of coaches to the best player in college women’s basketball.
Among the 20 players selected as watch list candidates, Williams is one of four players from the Big 12 Conference on the watch list: Lauren Cox of Baylor, Amy Okonkwo of TCU and Charli Collier of Texas. Other candidates for the award are: Kianna Ibis, Arizona State; Reyna Frost, Central Michigan; Napheesa Collier, Connecticut; Audrey Faber, Creighton; Sara Rhine, Drake; Caliya Robinson, Georgia; Brianna Fraser, Maryland; Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee State; Anriel Howard, Mississippi State; Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Northwestern; Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Bella Alarie, Princeton; Alexis Jennings, South Carolina; Alanna Smith, Stanford and Megan Huff, Utah.
Kansas State will face two of the candidates – Ibis and Alarie – during its 2018-19 non-conference schedule.
Williams will begin her junior season as the Big 12 Conference’s seventh-highest returning scorer and fourth-best returning rebounder and shot blocker from the 2017-18 season.
In the 2017-18 season, Williams also set season-highs in every statistical category including points, rebounds, blocks and steals. She achieved these career season-highs while playing her first full season with K-State volleyball in the fall of 2017.
The forward from Topeka, Kansas, increased her scoring average from 2016-17 to 2017-18 by 11.0 points per game, which was the third-largest increase from one season to the next in program history and the fourth-highest increase in the nation in 2017-18. She was among the top-two for K-State and ranked among the Big 12 top 15 in field goal percentage (.536), points per game (14.7), rebounds per game (7.1) and free throw percentage (.856).
Williams was the fourth sophomore in program history and the first since Kendra Wecker in the 2002-03 season to score 500 or more points and pull in 200 or more rebounds in a season.
Williams enters the 2018-19 season on the verge of recording 1,000 career points, as she needs 374 points to reach the mark. She ranks 10th in program history for career field goal percentage. Defensively, Williams needs 18 blocked shots to move into K-State’s career top-10 list.
Kansas State will begin its 2018-19 season with an exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 1, against Fort Hays State at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will begin their non-conference regular season schedule on Monday, Nov. 12, against Omaha at 5:30 p.m.
Season tickets for the upcoming 2018-19 K-State women’s basketball season are on sale now. For the second straight season, fans can purchase two general admission season tickets for only $50, a savings of more than $100. To purchase 2018-19 K-State women’s basketball season tickets, contact the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
For more information and the latest updates on the 2019 Katrina McClain Award, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #McClainAward on Twitter and Instagram.
About Katrina McClain:
Katrina McClain-Pittman was a prolific rebounder and terrific scorer in a career that spanned three Olympic Games and three continents. Before she earned her stripes for USA Basketball, McClain-Pittman starred at the University of Georgia where she was a two-time Kodak All-American and the WBCA National Player of the Year her senior season. She left Georgia as the school's second all-time leading scorer and rebounder, averaging a double-double her final two seasons in Athens. The Lady Bulldogs reached the 1985 NCAA Final Four and national championship game with McClain-Pittman controlling the paint and Teresa Edwards running the offense. The two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year finished her international career with two Olympic gold medals and one bronze, three FIBA World Championships medals, and five medals at the Goodwill Games, Pan Am Games, and World University Games. In all, McClain-Pittman appeared on eleven USA Basketball rosters becoming one of the most decorated athletes in USA Basketball history. She has been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the Georgia State Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
