KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced Wednesday the top 10 candidates for the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award, and Tennessee standout Rennia Davis has made the cut for the second year in a row.
Named after the three-time Naismith Player of the Year and Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, the annual award in its third year recognizes the top small forwards in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.
“The players on this top-10 list are unquestionably some of the most gifted in basketball today and they should feel honored to be considered for the Cheryl Miller Award,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Ms. Miller has long been considered as one of the greats of our game, and we are grateful to have her insight as we move forward in this process.”
The 6-foot-2 junior from Jacksonville, Fla., is averaging a career-best 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest to lead the Lady Vols, ranking second and sixth, respectively, among SEC players. In conference action, she has averaged 20.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, ranking first among all league players in scoring and seventh in rebounding.
The UT standout is shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 80.7 percent from the free throw line in all games to rank ninth and third, respectively, in the conference. In SEC play, she is hitting field goals at a 53-percent clip to rank fifth among her peers and is second at the charity stripe with an 82.9 percentage.
Davis leads the team in three-pointers with 27 buckets from long range and is second in steals (21) and third in assists (48).
Davis, who has led a young Tennessee squad to a 17-6 record and No. 25 national ranking thus far, has scored in double figures in 20 straight games and in 21 of her 22 contests this season. Including last year, she has hit 10 or more points in 34 of her past 35 starts. She has registered five 20-point games so far in 2019-20, moving into a tie for ninth on UT’s career list with 12 games of scoring 20 or more.
She also has tallied eight double-double efforts thus far and would move into the top 10 all-time for Lady Vol juniors with just one more. She currently ranks 11th in career double-doubles with 26 during her third year on Rocky Top.
Earlier this season, Davis reached the 1,000-point scoring plateau, becoming the 46th Lady Vol to reach that milestone. She has since climbed to No. 32 on the list with 1,257 points entering the LSU game.
Davis previously has been announced as a member of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 and the Citizen Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30.
The winner of the 2020 Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy’s in Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10, 2020, along with the other four members of the Women’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award include Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019) and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018). For more information on the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #MillerAward on Twitter and Instagram.
2020 Cheryl Miller Award Candidates
Megan Walker, Connecticut
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Kaila Charles, Maryland
Vivian Gray, Oklahoma State
Satou Sabally, Oregon
Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State
Mia Davis, Temple
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA
UT Athletics
