EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern sophomore Ashley Deary has been named to the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list for the second consecutive season, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday. The award goes to the nation's top Division I point guard.
Deary leads the Wildcats and currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 5.1 assists per game. The Flower Mound, Texas, native ranks second in both assist/turnover ratio and steals per game at 2.1 and 3.3, respectively. She has ranked in the top 10 nationally in steals for much of this season.
A reliable piece of Northwestern's puzzle, Deary has started all 22 games for the 'Cats while averaging just over 30 minutes per contest. She is averaging 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season.
Deary opened the season with a bang by equaling NU's single-game record for steals when she picked Chicago State's pocket 11 times on Nov. 14, 2014. The point guard became only the second player in program history to record double-digit thefts in a game and she moved into a tie for fourth on the Big Ten's single game list with two other players. She also added 10 points and six assists as she notched the first double-double of her career in her team's 102-48 triumph.
She was also instrumental in helping Northwestern complete the season sweep of Michigan State on Jan. 11. Deary scored a team-high 18 points and handed out 10 assists to help Northwestern to a 77-70 victory. She scored 11 of those 18 points during a 20-0 run in the first half that put the Wildcats on top for good. For that tremendous effort, Deary earned her first career Big Ten Player of the Week nod.
Deary also had a memorable night from downtown against Iowa on Jan. 29. The Texan buried all five of her attempts from 3-point range as she helped the two teams set an NCAA record for the most triples made in a single game (32). Her 5-for-5 effort from beyond the arc was a career best.
Deary was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2014 as a freshman. She started all 33 games in her inaugural campaign while earning All-Big Ten honorable mention by the league's coaches. NU's floor general is one of six players from the Big Ten to be named to the watch list this season. A total of 31 players from around the country are on the 2015 list. To view the complete list, please click here.
Northwestern resumes play on Sunday, Feb. 8 when it welcomes instate rival Illinois to Welsh-Ryan Arena at 1 p.m.
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