IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa fifth-year Monika Czinano has been named a 2023 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Finalist, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA announced on Friday. Czinano was a semifinalist for the award in 2022.
The list is comprised of five student-athletes who are still in the running for the sixth annual Lisa Leslie Award that recognizes the best center in women’s basketball.
This season, Czinano was an All-Big Ten First Team selection by the coaches and media. She is averaging 17.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Czinano has been top five in field goal percentage the last four seasons and is third all-time leading scorer in Iowa women’s basketball history.
Fans can support their favorite player by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting today on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
This month, the finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Lisa Leslie Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award 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 Nancy Lieberman Award (Point Guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (Shooting Guard), Cheryl Miller Award (Small Forward) and the Katrina McClain Award (Power Forward), in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Lisa Leslie Award are Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (2020-22), Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019) and A’ja Wilson, South Carolina (2018).
For more information on the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #LeslieAward on Twitter and Instagram.