Williams a Finalist for Cheryl Miller Award

NORMAN – One of the most dominant two-way players in the country, Oklahoma women's basketball senior Madi Williams was named one of five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award today, awarded annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its fifth year recognizes the top small forwards in NCAA Division I college women's basketball.

Williams joins Ashley Joens (Iowa State), Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), Haley Jones (Stanford) and Emily Engstler (Louisville) as a finalist.

It's the first time that the senior has been a finalist for the award, and it comes following a regular season where she led a resurging Oklahoma team in points (17.7) and rebounds (7.7) per game. A unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, Williams is the only player in the country to average 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the year while playing less than 30 minutes a game. She's one of just three players since 2009 in women's basketball to hit those marks in under 30 MPG, joining UConn's Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore, who combined for five Wade Trophies in that time.

Williams has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season and tallied eight double-doubles to move into 7th all-time at Oklahoma. In addition, she became the 14th Sooner ever to hit 1500 points in their career and currently sits ninth in program history in all-time scoring.

Williams was instrumental in OU's historic turnaround under first-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk. The senior started every game she played this season and helped OU increase its win total by 11 games from last year to this season. Guided by Williams and her teammates, Oklahoma ascended into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2017 as the Sooners rose to No. 12 earlier in the season.

Next, the Sooners take the floor on Friday in the Big 12 quarterfinal vs. Kansas. The fourth-seeded Sooners seek their first conference championship since 2009.

In November, a national committee determined the watch list of 20 student-athletes, which was narrowed to 10 candidates in February and now just five finalists. The finalists will be presented to Ms. Miller and the Hall of Fame's selection committee this month. The winner of the 2022 Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award will be determined by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame's selection committee. Naismith Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on Friday, March 11 on hoophallawards.com. Teammate Taylor Robertson is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award.

"I am grateful to be the namesake of this award and I thank the Basketball Hall of Fame for acknowledging these outstanding student-athletes," said Cheryl Miller, Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1995. "I know they have worked tirelessly to accomplish all that they have thus far, and it will be very exciting to watch them this postseason as we determine our award winner."

The 2022 Cheryl Miller Award winner will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men's Starting Five. Additional information about the award presentation, including date and time, will be released in the coming weeks.

Williams a Finalist for Cheryl Miller Award

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Madi Williams

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Williams a Finalist for Cheryl Miller Award

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