Markowski Named to Leslie Award Top 10

Lincoln – Nebraska sophomore Alexis Markowski advanced to the list of 10 contenders for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award, which was announced Friday, Feb. 3, by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the WBCA.

The Lisa Leslie Award honors the nation’s top center in NCAA Division I women’s basketball and is named after three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year Lisa Leslie, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

The only sophomore among the 10 finalists for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award, Markowski has been a force inside for Nebraska. The 6-3 center out of Lincoln Pius X High School has produced 10 double-doubles, including four in Nebraska’s last six Big Ten Conference games. She ranks second among the Huskers with 12.1 points per game, while leading Nebraska and ranking second in the Big Ten with 9.6 rebounds per contest. She also leads the Huskers with 1.0 block per game while adding 1.0 steal. Markowski is the only player among the Leslie Award Top 10 who is younger than a fourth-year collegiate year.

The Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 candidates is a who’s who of head-to-head match-ups for Markowski this season, including fellow Big Ten centers Mackenzie Holmes (Indiana) and Monika Czinano (Iowa), along with Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley, Kansas center Taiyanna Jackson and Mississippi State center Jessika Carter. The other four contenders for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award include three-time award winner Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Dorka Juhasz (UConn), Quay Miller (Colorado) and Bella Murekafete (Washington State).

The 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Markowski was a preseason first-team All-Big Ten choice in 2022-23 after earning second-team all-conference honors a year ago. She was Nebraska’s Offensive MVP after averaging 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in Big Ten Conference play as a freshman. She helped the Huskers to a 23-9 record and a trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. 

This season, Markowski earned her first Big Ten Player-of-the-Week award (Dec. 19) after going for back-to-back double-doubles with 22 points and 10 rebounds against 2022 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Allyson Fertig from Wyoming (Dec. 18). It followed a 16-point, 15-rebound performance in a win over Samford (Dec. 10).

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates for the Lisa Leslie Award. In early February, the watch list was narrowed to 10, and in late February a final list of five candidates will be selected. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame selection committee with a winner being selected.

Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite players daily at hoophallawards.com.

2023 Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 Candidates

Alexis Markowski, Nebraska (Sophomore)

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Senior)

Jessika Carter, Mississippi State (Redshirt Senior)

Monika Czinano, Iowa (Fifth-Year Senior)

Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana (Senior)

Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas (Senior)

Dorka Juhasz, UConn (Graduate)

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech  (Senior)

Quay Miller, Colorado (Senior)

Bella Murekafete, Washington State (Senior)