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K-State Women’s Basketball’s Sundell Named to Lieberman Award Top 10

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (KStateSports.com) – K-State senior guard Serena Sundell has added to her 2024-25 honors, as she has been named as one of 10 point guards in the nation selected to the 2024-25 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award – an award that recognizes the top point guard in women’s college basketball.

Fans can support their favorite players in the remaining rounds by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, February 7, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.

The final 5 candidates for the award will be released to the public on a day-by-day basis starting the week of March 4, with voting set to follow on March 8. The list is fluid throughout the whole process and players have the ability to play themselves on or off our list until the winner is finally selected. The winner of this award, as well as presentation details, will be announced towards the end of the season.

The 2025 Nancy Lieberman Award winner will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward), Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward) and the Lisa Leslie Award (Center), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.

Sundell, a 2024-25 Preseason All-Big 12 selection, leads the nation in assists (166) and leads the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation for assists per game (7.2). She has a Big 12-high six games with 10 or more assists including a pair of games of 13 assists which tied the school record for assists in a single game.

She is averaging 13.1 points per game on a .491 field goal percentage while also hauling in 4.3 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 22 blocks.

In her career, Sundell is second in school history for career assists with 715 and is second in program history for career assists per game (5.7 apg). She ranks 10th on the K-State career scoring list with 1,565 points. She ranks ninth in program history with 95 career blocks. She is the only player in school history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career assists and 50 or more career blocked shots.

Other candidates for the Lieberman Award are: Katie Dinnebier (Drake), Harmoni Turner (Harvard), Georgia Amoore (Kentucky), Olivia Miles (Notre Dame), Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina), Hailey Van Lith (TCU), Rori Harman (Texas), Kiki Rice (UCLA) and Paige Bueckers (UConn).

(12/11) K-State hosts (9/9) TCU on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or call (800) 221-CATS.

Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN+ and will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and the flagship stations of K-State women’s basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.

About Nancy Lieberman: 
Playing hoops on the rough-and-tumble Harlem courts, Brooklyn-bred Nancy Lieberman learned to play a physical, aggressive style of basketball unlike other women of her time. As a 5’10” point guard, Lieberman was taller than many of the guards of her era, and her ability to drive to the hoop, dish out assists, and grab hard-fought rebounds served her well during her stellar career. She compiled over 2,400 points, 1,100 rebounds, and 961 assists as she led the Lady Monarchs to a 125-15 record, 1 WNIT Title and back to back National Championships in 1979 and 1980 (102-6 her last 3 years).

Before her illustrious career began at ODU, Nancy made the 1975 USA Pan Am team that won the Gold Medal in Mexico City she was a high school junior at Far Rockaway High School at the time. In 1976, as a member of the USA’s first Women’s Olympic Team which won the Silver Medal, Lieberman made history by being the youngest Olympian in basketball ever, male or female (which still stands today). Lieberman then led Old Dominion University to back-to-back AIAW national championships in 1979 and 1980. She was twice named the Wade Trophy winner — a basketball first as the nation’s top female athlete during those two seasons, 3-time All-American. Lieberman was the two-time winner of the Broderick Cup as well., Lieberman played professionally in the first women’s pro league in the WBL 1980-81 and in 1984 in the WABA. Earning WBL MVP honors with the Dallas Diamonds in 1981, she led the team to the 1984 WABA championship and was league MVP.

In 1986, she signed to be the first woman to play in a men’s professional league in the USBL with the Springfield Fame, and in 1987, with the Long Island Knights. She joined the 1987 Harlem Globetrotter world tour with the Washington Generals. 1997 Lieberman made history in the inaugural season of the WNBA, playing for the Phoenix Mercury at the age of 39, and in 2008, playing for the Detroit Shock at age 50! Her coaching career started in 1998 as the Head Coach/GM for the Detroit Shock, taking the Shock to the playoffs in year two. In 2011, she was the first female head coach hired in the NBA D-League for the Dallas Mavericks affiliate, the Texas Legends, and led them to the playoffs. In 2015, she became only the second woman hired as an assistant coach in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. She was named a recipient of the 2017 Mannie Jackson Basketball’s Human Spirit Award for her on-going philanthropic work across the country through her Nancy Lieberman Charities, changing the lives of underserved youth across the country. In 2018 Nancy Lieberman became the first female head coach in a men’s’s professional league with the BIG3 League for Team Power. Nancy led team Power to a 2018 Championship victory and was selected Coach of the Year, becoming the first female in history to be awarded Coach of the Year. Follow Nancy on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @Nancylieberman and go to nancyliebermancharities.org for more information.