Naismith watchlist narrowed to four finalists

The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the four finalists in consideration for the 2018 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year on Friday. 

The list of players that remain from the semifinalist list includes South Carolina forward A'ja Wilson, who became the first three-time Southeastern Conference player of the year and set the Gamecocks' career scoring mark back in January. She and the Gamecocks are seeded No. 2 in the Albany Regional. They'll open Friday night at home against No. 15 seed North Carolina A&T.

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Joining Wilson are UConn standouts Gabby Williams and Katie Lou Samuelson, who will compete for the Huskies' 12th national title. 

Rounding out the final four players in consideration is Louisville's Asia Durr. The junior guard has made headlines this season earning multiple conference honors and leading the Cardinals to a season sweep of Notre Dame.

Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the creator of the game of basketball, the first Naismith trophy was awarded in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Citizen Naismith Women’s Player of the Year Award was first given to Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University in 1983. Former all-time leading scorer and Washington guard Kelsey Plum was the 2017 Citizen Naismith Trophy winner.