Maya Moore, a junior last year at the University of Connecticut, was selected as the 2010 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year for her outstanding performance in basketball. For only the second time in its 34-year history, two female athletes tied for the annual Honda-Broderick Cup. The other winner of the prestigious award was Penn State volleyball star Megan Hodge. Both athletes were selected as winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup by voting among 1,000 NCAA member schools and the Board of Directors of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program.

Last year’s ceremony in Los Angeles was attended by all “Top Three” finalists for the 2010 award, including both Hodge and Moore as well as track & field distance runner Lisa Koll from Iowa State University. Moore is the third athlete from UConn to be honored as Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year

The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award recognizes not only outstanding athletic achievement but also team contributions, scholastics and community involvement. Last year’s tie marks only the second time that two athletes have received the Honda-Broderick Cup in the same year. In 1984, the award went to both swimmer Tracy Caulkins from the University of Florida and basketball player Cheryl Miller from the University of Southern California.

Judith R. Holland, co-founder and executive director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards, noted: “(Last) year’s history-making tie for our top award is highly unusual. And while it is extremely rare for us to have a tie for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, in this case it is quite fortuitous, as we are delighted to be able to give the award to two such outstanding athletes and exemplary young women as Maya and Megan. They are both very worthy recipients and we are proud to have them join our legacy.”

Moore, who grew up in Lawrenceville, Georgia, helped her team achieve an NCAA record of 78 wins this year, as well as its sixth undefeated season and second straight NCAA National Championship. She received both the 2010 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Dayton Regional’s Most Outstanding Player award and is a three-time AP First Team All-American. Moore ended this season averaging 18.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, scoring in double figures 34 times. She finished the 2009-10 season with 736 points, the second most points scored in a season by a UConn player only to herself (754 pts in 2008-09). So far in her career, Moore has scored 2168 points, with 963 rebounds and 243 three-pointers. She is also the first junior in the program’s history to score over 2000 points.

In addition to her achievements in athletics, Moore is an academic standout. A Sports Marketing and Media major with a 3.85 GPA, she has been honored this year as the Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year, ESPN Academic All-America of the Year, CoSIDA Academic First-Team, 2010 Wade Trophy winner and Wooden finalist.