Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

ATLANTA -- University of Delaware women’s basketball sensation, and the nation’s leading scorer, Elena Delle Donne remains one of 30 midseason candidates for the 2009-10 Naismith Trophy announced Thursday. After being selected as one of 50 on the Preseason Naismith Watch List, Delle Donne remains a midseason candidate based on her performances this season.

The list was voted on by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists from around the country. The board based its criteria on player performances this season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

Delle Donne leads the nation, the CAA, and the18-9 Blue Hens in scoring, averaging 26.9 points per game. She has recorded 11 double-doubles this season, while averaging 9.1 rebounds per game to rank second in the conference and 54th nationally.

Delle Donne who doubles as a Midseason Wooden Award Top 20 candidate, has been named the CAA Player and/or Rookie of the Week on nine occasions.

Delle Donne is joined on the watch list by fellow Colonial Athletic Association members, senior Gabriela Marginean of Drexel University and junior Dawn Evans of James Madison University.

Since 2005, presenting sponsor AT&T has set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining the trophy 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.

Connecticut’s Maya Moore seeks to become the first player ever to win two Naismith trophies in high school and college, as the junior forward headlines the list. Moore won the Naismith National High School Girl’s Player of the Year award in both 2006 and 2007 at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Ga., and claimed the college award this past March. She is joined on the list by teammates Tina Charles and Tiffany Hayes.

Others to accomplish the dual-level feat of winning both a high school and college Naismith Trophy include Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi (2000 in high school; and both 2003 and 2004 in college), Tennessee’s Tamika Catchings (1997, 1998; 2000), Candace Parker (2003 and 2004; 2008) and Chamique Holdsclaw (1995; 1998 and 1999) and USC’s Lisa Leslie (1990; 1994).

The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball’s player of the year. For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

AGATE:

2009-10 Naismith Trophy Midseason Candidates: Jayne Appel, Stanford; Ashley Barlow, Notre Dame; Tina Charles, Connecticut; Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee; Elena Delle Donne, Delaware; Dawn Evans, James Madison; Tyra Grant, Penn State; Alexis Gray-Lawson, California; Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska; Brittney Griner, Baylor; Amber Harris, Xavier; Allison Hightower, LSU; Ashley Houts, Georgia; Shenise Johnson, Miami; Jantel Lavender, Ohio State; Gabriela Marginean, Drexel; Danielle McCray, Kansas; Maya Moore, Connecticut; Kayla Pedersen, Stanford; Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier; Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State; Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State; Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma; Jenna Smith, Illinois; Da’Shena Stevens, St. John’s; Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee; Jasmine Thomas, Duke; Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss; Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga; Monica Wright, Virginia.