Feb. 27, 2013

BERKELEY - California senior Layshia Clarendon has been named as one of 30 candidates for the 2013 Naismith Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award presented by AT&T, the Atlanta Tip-off Club announced Wednesday.

Clarendon, an All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate, a Senior CLASS Award finalist and a midseason selection to the State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List, leads No. 6 California with 15.6 points per game - a mark she has increased to 17.6 in conference play - and is one of just two guards in the conference shooting .460 from the field or higher.

Just the seventh Golden Bear to hit the 1,600-point mark in a career, Clarendon has paced California to a 25-2 mark and led the Bears in scoring in 12 of their 16 Pac-12 games, willing the team to a program-best 15-1 conference record with two games remaining. Well respected both on and off the court, Clarendon has also been selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection this year.

The top 30 candidates were selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances during this year's college basketball season. In late March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will narrow down the pack to four finalists. The Naismith Women's College Player of the Year presented by AT&T will be awarded to one female athlete on April 8, 2013, in New Orleans, La.

California returns to the court this weekend with the regular season finale at Washington State on Thursday and at Washington on Saturday. The Bears (25-2, 15-1 Pac-12) are in search of the first Pac-12 championship in program history.