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Finalists for the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Award announced

On3 imageby:Dan Morrison•about 18 hours•

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Paige Bueckers, Olivia Miles
Paige Bueckers, Olivia Miles - © Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the five finalists for the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Award. It’s given annually to the best point guard in women’s college basketball.

It’s a star-studded list of finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award. The group includes Georgia Amoore of the Kentucky Wildcats, Olivia Miles of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Rori Harmon of the Texas Longhorns, Kiki Rice of the UCLA Bruins, and Paige Bueckers of the UConn Huskies.

Georgia Amoore came to Kentucky as a transfer following four seasons where she was a star at Virginia Tech. Now in her fifth college season, she could have moved on to the WNBA but chose to stay in college and has helped turn around the Wildcats program this season. With 18.8 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game this season, Kentucky may not be in the position it’s in now without her.

Then, Olivia Miles is at times overshadowed on Notre Dame by her co-star Hannah Hidalgo, but she’s still a phenomenal player. Like Amoore, Miles is in her fifth year after missing all of last season. A key reason why Notre Dame has been one of the best teams in the country, she’s averaging 16.5 points, 5.9 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Rori Harmon, for her part, is the point guard of the team currently ranked first in the AP Poll. An elite defensive player, she’s now in her fourth season, all of which have been with Texas. Harmon is averaging 9.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game.

For a large part of the season, UCLA was the top-ranked team in the country. The Bruins have slipped slightly, dropping a pair of tough games, but there is no chance that UCLA would be here without Kiki Rice. Now a junior, and the youngest of the five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, Rice is one of the best players and not just the best point guards in the country. She’s averaging 13 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Finally, Paige Bueckers might be the biggest name of the group. The UConn star is expected to be a high WNBA Draft pick. Now a fifth-year senior two seasons removed from a devastating injury, Bueckers has UConn ready to make noise in March. She’s averaging 18.6 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The award is named after Nancy Lieberman, a former player and coach. A WABA Champion, she was an All-American at Old Dominion during her playing career.

While everyone would love to win the Nancy Lieberman Award, all of the finalists are going to stay focused on their conference tournaments and the Women’s NCAA Tournament first and foremost.