Belmont’s Destinee Wells Named To The 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List

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Destinee Wells. Photo: Courtesy of Belmont Athletics

Belmont University women’s basketball star Destinee Wells has been selected as one of 20 watch-list candidates for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

To be considered for the prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1996 member Nancy Lieberman.

“The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is honored to celebrate both men and women at all levels of the game,” says President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame John L. Doleva. “The players being recognized today on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List have worked extremely hard to master their skills and have become outstanding examples of why the future is so bright for our game. We look forward to evaluating this year’s top point guards with Nancy Lieberman, a Hall of Famer who helped pave the way for today’s female athletes.”

A junior, Wells has already solidified herself in Bruins history with the performances she’s had. The only freshman in the nation to average at least 17.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals in 2020-21, Wells has scored double figures in 43 of her last 45 games and 51 of 56 career games. Starting in all but one game she has donned the Belmont jersey, Wells enters the 2022-23 campaign needing only 36 points to become the Bruins’ 33rd 1,000-point scorer. In addition to her scoring ability, Wells has compiled 255 assists, 188 rebounds and 91 steals in her first two years.

Over the last two NCAA Tournaments against some of the biggest names in the game, the Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native has averaged 19.8 points and five assists with 20-point outings versus Tennessee and Gonzaga. Named Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Year following the 2021-22 season, Wells claimed back-to-back spots on the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team and was tabbed All-American honorable mention by World Exposure Report after her sophomore season. Wells became only the second player in Ohio Valley Conference history selected as OVC Tournament MVP as both a freshman and sophomore upon leading Belmont to its sixth OVC Tournament title in seven years.

Fans are encouraged to participate in fan voting, presented by Dell Technologies, in each of the three rounds for the Nancy Lieberman Award starting Friday, Oct. 21. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award winner will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (2022), Paige Bueckers, UConn (2021), Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (2018-20), Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame (2012-13), Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (2003-04) and Sue Bird, Connecticut (2000-02).

Steven Boero
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