Minnesota’s women’s basketball guard Lindsay Whalen is one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Step Up Award, honoring the nation’s top collegiate point guard.

The sophomore averages 22.4 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game for the No. 14 Gophers (20-5, 10-4 Big Ten) and was named the Big Ten’s Player of the Week for a record fifth time Monday.

Wisconsin Badger and Minneapolis native Tamara Moore is the only other Big Ten player nominated.

The award will be presented in Detroit on April 20.

Kennedy awarded

Senior right fielder Jason Kennedy was named baseball’s Big Ten Player of the Week for his performance against defending NCAA champion Miami (Fla.).

Kennedy paced the Minnesota offense with a .778 average, two home runs – one of them a grand slam – two doubles, eight RBI, five runs scored and five walks. He had 15 total bases, an on-base percentage of .857 and he slugged an amazing 1.667.

Kennedy collected seven RBI on Saturday, making him the first player to ever record seven or more RBI in one game versus the Hurricanes.

Harrigan honored

Tahesia Harrigan was awarded the Big Ten Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week for the second season time this season on Tuesday.

The sophomore claimed two first-place finishes at the Parents’ Day Open last Saturday. Harrigan’s mark of 19-feet, 1/2-inch in the long jump competition was the sixth-best distance in school history. Her winning sprint of 39.61 seconds in the 300- meter dash is the third best all-time performance in Minnesota history.