OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Senior Ta'Kenya Nixon has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for women's basketball. The guard is one of 30 players to be selected to the initial award's list.
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
 
Nixon returns to the court for her senior season after helping the Panthers post a 22-9 (13-3 OVC) record a year ago and advanced to their third consecutive postseason tournament. The two-time 'OVC Defensive Player of the Year' and three-time All-OVC First Team selection led the conference in field-goal percentage last season as she connected on 52.4 percent of her shot attempts – the highest percentage in the nation among players listed as a guard (17^th overall).
 
Additionally, Nixon led the conference with 2.7 steals per game while also ranking second in assists (4.5 apg), sixth in scoring (16.3 ppg) and 17^th in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
 
Nixon enters the 2012-13 season with 1,442 career points, needing only 450 points to pass Rachel Galligan (2006-09) as the school's all-time leading scorer.
 
In the classroom, the biology major intends on becoming a physician's assistant after graduation following an advanced degree. She is active in the community participating in the team's community service projects that have included volunteering with the Habitat for Humanity and the Make-a-Wish-Foundation.
 
Nixon is the second Panther women's basketball player to be named to the Senior CLASS Award list as Galligan was a finalist for the award in 2009, being named to the Senior CLASS Award Second Team.
 
ABOUT THE SENIOR CLASS AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of NCAA Division I senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. The award is managed by Premier Sports Management. Award winners are determined by a selection process that includes NCAA Division I college coaches in each respective sport, national media and fans. Public fan voting on the Senior CLASS Award website takes place each year during the month leading up to the NCAA Championship.
 
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 women's finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one men's finalist and one women's finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.  

WOMEN's BASKETBALL CANDIDATES
Kayla Alexander, Syracuse
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
Alex Bentley, Penn State
Brittany Chambers, Kansas State
Layshia Clarendon, California
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame
Caroline Durbin, New Mexico
Shante Evans, Hofstra
Jennifer George, Florida
Angel Goodrich, Kansas
Lily Grenci, Siena
Brittney Griner, Baylor
Whitney Hand, Oklahoma
Tayler Hill, Ohio State
Jacqui Kalin, Northern Iowa
Marissa Kastanek, North Carolina State
Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts
Anna Martin, DePaul
A'dia Mathies, Kentucky
Victoria McGowan, Stetson
Drey Mingo, Purdue
Ta'Kenya Nixon, Eastern Illinois
Kaela Oakes, Idaho State
Chelsea Poppens, Iowa State
Jaime Printy, Iowa
Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown
Rachel Semansky, Montana State
Naama Shafir, Toledo