Payne Named to Dawn Staley Award Watch List
January 28, 2016 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina redshirt senior guard Jada Payne has earned a spot on the 2016 Dawn Staley Award Mid-Season Watch List the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia announced on Thursday.
In its fourth season, the award recognizes the nation's best guard in Women's Division I college basketball, exemplified by skills that Staley possessed: ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute and will to win. Staley is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina and played was a three-time All-America choice at the University of Virginia during her playing career (1989-92).
Averaging 20.3 points per game this season, Payne leads the Pirates in scoring and assists, while ranking second in rebounding with 9.4. She is one of just three players nationally to average over 20 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent overall from the field. Her 10 double-doubles also rank in the top 20 nationally.
The Hickory, N.C., native has topped all ECU scorers on 14 occasions while eclipsing 20 points 12 times, and has been the squad's leader in assists in a team-best seven games on the year. Payne's 20.3 points and 38.9 minutes played in American Athletic Conference games rank first among all players in the league.
The Dawn Staley Award will be announced during Final Four weekend and the award ceremony will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia.
East Carolina will host Temple on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and available on the WatchESPN app.
2016 Dawn Staley Award Mid-Season Watch List
Adrienne Motley - University of Miami
Aerial Powers - Michigan State University
Alexis Jones - Baylor University
Alexis Peterson - Syracuse University
Brandy Montgomery - Auburn University
Courtney Walker - Texas A&M University
Courtney Williams - University of South Florida
Jada Payne - East Carolina University
Jordin Canada - UCLA
Kelsey Mitchell - Ohio State University
Kelsey Plum - University of Washington
Kahleah Copper - Rutgers University
Madison Cable - University of Notre Dame
Makayla Epps - University of Kentucky
Moriah Jefferson - University of Connecticut
Rachel Banham - University of Minnesota
Tiffany Mitchell - University of South Carolina
Tyler Scaife - Rutgers University
