SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Portland Pilots women's basketball center Lucy Cochrane has been named to the 20-player watch list for the 2023 Lisa Leslie Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

The annual award was first introduced in 2018 three years after the induction of Lisa Leslie into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. The award recognizes the best center in the NCAA over the course of the season, starting with the 20-player preseason watch list in October. The list will be narrowed down to 10 players in January and five in late February, with the five finalists being presented to Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where a winner is selected. Fans can also vote for their favortie players in each round at hoophallawards.com (Full link below and in the column on the right).

Cochrane was a dominant force defensively for the Pilots last season, averaging a menacing 3.9 blocks per game, leading the nation. She set the program record for blocks with 114 on the season, with that total being second in the nation. She was one of just seven players in the WCC over the last 12 seasons to total 110 blocks or more in a year. She also averaged 8.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.

The Pilots are coming off one of their best seasons in recent history, putting up a 20-11 overall record for their fifth 20-win season as a NCAA Division I program and their second under head coach Michael Meek. Portland earned a berth for the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the first time since 2009, beating the Colorado State Rams in the opening round at the Chiles Center, marking the first home playoff win for the Pilots ever and their first in the WNIT.

The first action of the year for Portland will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 2 against Warner Pacific her at the Chiles Center. The exhibition match will tip off at 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for more information.

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