by STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State’s Stailee Heard has been named to the 20-player Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Tuesday.
The Cheryl Miller Award, one of five Naismith Starting Five awards, recognizes the nation’s top small forward in women’s college basketball. Now in its 10th year, the award honors Miller, the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer.
Heard, a senior from Sapulpa, Okla., enters her fourth season in Stillwater as the lone returner on the Cowgirl roster. She was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season, averaging 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and she recorded just the third triple-double in program history with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against Iowa State. She was also a unanimous Preseason All-Big 12 First Team pick heading into this season.
This is the second straight season Heard has been named to the watch list. Should she go on to win it, she’d become the first Cowgirl in program history to claim the award.
The 20-player list will be trimmed to 10 in February, then to five in March, with the winner selected in late March by Miller and the Hall of Fame selection committee. Fans can participate in fan voting in each of the three rounds starting Friday, Oct. 31.
Heard opened the preseason Tuesday with 18 points and 5 assists in Oklahoma State’s 117-44 exhibition rout of Langston. The No. 22 Cowgirls open the regular season against Southern at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
