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Mechelle Voepel 7y

Oregon junior Ruthy Hebard eyes repeat as top power forward

Women's College Basketball, Oregon Ducks

Oregon's Ruthy Hebard won the inaugural Katrina McClain Award as the top power forward in women's college basketball last season. Now, the Ducks' 6-foot-4 junior is back on the watch list for this season's McClain award.

Hebard averaged 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds last season, and at one point made an NCAA-record 33 shots in a row from the field, spread over four games. She shot 66 percent from the field for the season.

Joining Hebard on the watch list are three other Pac-12 players: Utah's Megan Huff, Arizona State's Kianna Ibis and Stanford's Alanna Smith.

The Big 12 also has four players on the McClain list: Texas' Charli Collier, Baylor's Lauren Cox, TCU's Amy Okonkwo and Kansas State's Peyton Williams. Three are from the SEC: Mississippi State's Anriel Howard, South Carolina's Alexis Jennings and Georgia's Caliya Robinson.

Also on the list: Princeton's Bella Alarie, UConn's Napheesa Collier, Creighton's Audrey Faber, Maryland's Brianna Fraser, Central Michigan's Reyna Frost, Middle Tennessee's Alex Johnson, Northwestern's Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Drake's Sara Rhine and Notre Dame's Jessica Shepard.

The other women's college basketball positional awards, which are sponsored by the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, are named after Nancy Lieberman (point guard), Ann Meyers Drysdale (shooting guard) Cheryl Miller (small forward) and Lisa Leslie (center).

Four of the watch lists have been released, with the Leslie Award list coming Friday.

Each award will be pared down to 10 finalists in February and five in March. The winners will be announced at the Women's Final Four in Tampa in April.

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