Asia Durr, Louisville
Durr has helped lead the Cardinals to a 17-1 record this season, their only loss coming to No. 1-ranked Notre Dame. She enters this week averaging over 20 points per game with a .449 field goal percentage. She ended last season on the WBCA, USA Today, Associated Press and USBWA All-America first teams. Durr also claimed ACC Player of the Year and NCAA Most Outstanding Player honors.
Durr averaged 18.7 points per game for the 2017-18 season as Louisville finished with a 36-3 record. The team won the ACC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
Darby Maggard, Belmont
This season, Maggard is averaging 14.8 points and 3.9 assists per game. As a junior, she became Belmont’s leader in career assists and 3-pointers made in the school’s NCAA Division I era. She was the MVP of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and for the third time was a first team All-OVC selection.
In a game against Tulsa, Maggard scored a career-best 33 points and tied a program record by making nine 3-pointers in the contest. She also was an Ann Meyers Drysdale Award finalist for shooting guard of the year in the 2017-18 season.
The weekly Wade Watch Spotlight recognizes players on this season’s Wade Watch list of candidates for the Wade Trophy, the sport’s oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award, which the WBCA presents each year to the best player in college women’s basketball.