Bria Hartley a finalist for Morgan Wootten Award

By Adam RonisMarch 3, 2010

The accolades continue to roll in for North Babylon senior point guard Bria Hartley. The UConn-bound Hartley is one of six finalists for the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award, which recognizes the nation’s top boys and girls high school senior student-athletes.

The other nominees are: Chelsea Gray (St. Mary’s High School – Stockton, Calif.), Kaneisha Horn (Ramsay High School – Birmingham, Ala.), Natasha Howard (Toledo Waite High School – Toledo, Ohio), Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School – Cypress, Tex.) and Odyssey Sims (Irving MacArthur High School – Irving, Tex.).

Hartley has been selected to play in the Nike WBCA All-Star game, is a McDonald’s All-American and a finalist for the Naismith Award.

“It’s been real exciting,” Hartley said. “I really want to dedicate this to my teammates. You can’t get nominated for these awards without good teammates.”

Hartley said she wasn’t even aware of some of these awards. She didn’t even know she was a finalist when spoken to last night, but said the Morgan Wootten Award is special.

“It shows you do it on the court and in the classroom, too,” Hartley said.

Hartley is averaging 27.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.4 steals and 5.6 assists. She has 1,927 career points following a career-high 43 points in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals against Smithtown West Monday night.

Hartley leads top-seeded North Babylon against No. 2 Sachem East in the Suffolk Class AA championship game at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Farmingdale State.

“It has been real fun,” Hartley said. “Our team is so young and goofy. It’s been different for me. I was always the young player looking up at the seniors. You learn to be a leader. I’ve become more vocal on the floor.”

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