(Cedar Falls, IA) – Northern Iowa’s Maya McDermott has been named to the 2024 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award watchlist. She joins another Iowa native Katie Dinnebier of the Drake Bulldogs on the list.
McDermott averaged 14.7 points per game last season and 3.5 assists per game. The Johnston native was named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Preseason First Team this week for the first time in her career.
The Becky Hammon Award is earned by a player who competes in one of the 26 mid-major conferences. The award came from the three-time All-American of Becky Hammon who played at Colorado State and led the Rams to their only Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. Hammond played in the WNBA for both the New York Liberty and San Antonia Stars in 2007 up until her retirement in 2014. Hammond is a household name, leading the Las Vegas Aces in back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2022 and just a week ago in 2023.
UNI will host LaCrosse in a preseason exhibition game this Monday, October 30th at 6:00 p.m. Their first regular-season game will be on November 6th against Green Bay at 6:00 p.m.