United Athletic Conference

ATLANTA, GA - The Western Athletic Conference has placed two women’s basketball players on the 2007-08 Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, presented by AT&T, as was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. New Mexico State senior Sherell Neal and Hawai?i senior Tanya Smith were two of 50 preseason candidates named to the list.

Neal, a 6-0 forward from Phoenix, Ariz. (Alhambra HS), recently became just the 16^th player in New Mexico State history to reach the 1,000 career point mark. She has helped the Aggies to an 8-2 record so far this season and currently averages 12.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Smith, a 6-3 center from Sydney, Australia (Jannali HS), currently leads the WAC in rebounding at 10.2 boards per game, and leads the Rainbow Wahine in scoring at 10.9 points per game. With 555 career rebounds, Smith is just four rebounds shy of breaking into Hawai?i’s all-time top-10 rebounding list.

The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s players of the year. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which based its preseason criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2007-08 campaign.  There are 27 seniors, 18 juniors and five sophomores on the list, which does not include incoming freshmen, who will be considered in the first ballot in January, 2008. 

AT&T will continue to set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining this year’s winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging, fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25-percent of the final results ? more than any other national college basketball award.

In January, the Naismith Trophy voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its preseason list to the Top-30 players in the nation. Those players will be eligible for the final ballot in March. In April, the Naismith Trophy winner will be recognized at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla.

For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

The pre-season women’s candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, listed in alphabetical order, are as follows:

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB

The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969.  Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.

The Naismith Award has become an emblem of excellence for the game, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and overall contribution to the game.