Beliveau Among 10 Finalists For Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award; Vote Daily

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – University of New Hampshire senior co-captain Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) was selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for women's basketball, announced Wednesday.

The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 60 candidates announced in November. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on either the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award website or the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 18. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I men's and women's basketball head coaches' votes to determine the winner.

Beliveau is joined on the list by seniors from nine other Division I programs: Brittany Carter (Memphis), Lauren Edwards (Princeton), Amanda Johnson (Oregon), Emilie Johnson (UC Santa Barbara), Michelle Kurowski (UMBC), Natalie Novosel (Notre Dame), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (Stanford), Justine Raterman (Dayton) and Brittany Rayburn (Purdue).

Through 19 games this season, Beliveau is living up to her reputation as one of the premier all-around players in the America East Conference as she ranks in the top 10 in eight statistical categories. She is atop the leaderboard in defensive rebound average (6.4) and is second in overall rebounding at 9.0 boards per game. Her other top rankings include steals (second, 2.4 per game), free throw percentage (third, 85.7) and scoring (fifth, 13.7 ppg). She also leads the conference with eight double-doubles after posting a league-leading 11 double-doubles last season.

Earlier this season, Beliveau notched her 1,000 career point and currently ranks ninth all-time in program history with 1,202 points. She also ranks fourth in rebounds (757) and seventh in both 3-pointers (124) and steals (180) all-time in program history.

A former America East Rookie of the Year and All-Conference Second Team selection, Beliveau graduated in 2010 with a degree in Exercise Science and is currently working toward a graduate degree in Leadership and Children's Health and Disabilities. Beliveau has earned America East Honor Roll accolades four years, including Commissioner's Honor Roll two years, and was named to the Dean's List six semesters. Beliveau was also named to the America East All-Academic Team in 2011.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of 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 sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management.

Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the men's Senior CLASS Award^® winner during the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four^®, which will be held March 31 and April 2 in New Orleans. The women's award winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four^®, which will be held April 1 and 3 in Denver.

For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

Women's Basketball Finalists

Denise Beliveau, Forward, New Hampshire

Brittany Carter, Guard, Memphis

Lauren Edwards, Guard, Princeton

Amanda Johnson, Forward, Oregon

Emilie Johnson, Guard, UC Santa Barbara

Michelle Kurowski, Guard, Maryland-Baltimore County

Natalie Novosel, Guard, Notre Dame

Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Forward, Stanford

Justine Raterman, Forward, Dayton

Brittany Rayburn, Purdue