Oregon State WBB: Pivec, Slocum Make Naismith Midseason Team

CORVALLIS – Oregon State standouts Mikayla Pivec and Destiny Slocum has been named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.

The 30-player team is made up of the top candidates for the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year. The 10 semifinalists will be announced on March 3, before the finalists are revealed on March 20. The award winner will be announced on April 4.

Pivec has been named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top-20, Naismith Defensive Midseason Team, and the Wade Trophy Watch List. Pivec was named the Preseason WNIT MVP and to the All-Tournament Teams for both the Maui Classic and the Miami Thanksgiving Classic.

The guard from Lynnwood, Wash. is averaging 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season. Pivec is first in the Pac-12 in rebounding and fifth in the conference in field goal percentage. The guard has 11 double-doubles this season and is in the top-10 in Oregon State history for career points, rebounds, and assists.

The senior has displayed a passion for community service, especially finding efficient ways to get the homeless access to resources. She is a team captain, and completed her undergraduate degree in three years, majoring in BioHealth Sciences. Pivec is currently a graduate student working toward a degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Slocum, who was named to the Lieberman Award Top-10 on Monday, is also on the watch list for the Wade Award. She leads the Beavers with 14.6 points per game this season and has a team-best 118 assists on the year.

Overall, Slocum has 475 assists in her collegiate career, good for 20th among active players in the nation, and the highest total by any non-senior. She posted her fourth career point-assist double-double on Sunday and has gone over 20 points 15 times in her two seasons with the Beavers.

Among Slocum’s career accolades is AP All-America Honorable Mention and All-Pac-12 honors last season, as well as National Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten Second Team recognition during her freshman campaign at Maryland.

The Beavers will hit the road this week, as they head south to take on USC on Friday.