NEW ORLEANS — Brittney Griner of Baylor is The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Griner is only the third player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Seimone Augustus of LSU and Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee. Maya Moore of Connecticut won it two times in three years.
The 6-foot-8 Griner star received 37 votes Saturday from the 40-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Balloting was done before the NCAA tournament.
Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford had two votes and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame the other one.
Griner averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks this season. She shot 61 percent from the field and 71 percent from the foul line.