OVERLAND PARK, Kan. –  Senior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) of the Drake University women's basketball team has been selected as a finalist for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS award in collegiate basketball.
 
Wendell is one of twenty NCAA® men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and were selected as finalists for the prestigious award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
 
Wendell is having an outstanding senior season helping lead Drake to a 20-4 overall record and 13-0 start in Missouri Valley Conference play. She is averaging 21.7 points per game, which leads the MVC and ranks 11th in the nation. Wendell is showing her versatility on the court as she ranks second in the league in steals at 2.8 and fourth in assists at 3.0 per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, which is the third-best mark in the MVC.
 
Wendell is an elementary education major who will student teach in the Des Moines area during the 2017 fall semester. She is on track to graduate from Drake in December, 2017. Wendell and her Bulldog teammates have completed more than 1,000 volunteer hours in each of her first three seasons and are on track to accomplish the community service initiative once again in 2016-17.
 
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
 
The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in January. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through March 20. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four®.
 
For more information on each of the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
 
Women's Basketball Finalists
Lindsay Allen, Notre Dame
Nina Davis, Baylor
Brionna Jones, Maryland
Erica McCall, Stanford
Adrienne Motley, Miami
Kelsey Plum, Washington
Leticia Romero, Florida State
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Maryland
Lizzy Wendell, Drake
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State