Arella Guirantes Tabbed for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List 

Arella Guirantes Tabbed for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List 

Scarlet Knights star is up for another national award with Top 30 rankings in steals & blocks per game 

ATLANTA – Arella Guirantes of Rutgers women’s basketball has been named to the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, it was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Tuesday morning.

The Bellport, N.Y. native is one of the top scorers in the nation and is accompanying another outstanding offensive campaign with her best career performance on the defensive end of the court. Guirantes has 3.1 steals per game and 2.4 blocked shots per game, ranking 15^th and 27^th in the nation, respectively. The effort has garnered Rutgers national prominence in team defense with a 28^th-ranked (second in the Big Ten) 56.6 points allowed per game and a contingent 6^th-ranked (first in the Big Ten) average scoring margin of 24.6.

The Scarlet Knights lead the country in steals per game at 15.5 and are listed 19^th in the nation with 5.5 blocks per contest.

Often turning stellar defense into points on the other end, Guirantes comes into the week ranked 15^th in the nation with 22.5 points per contest. She is one of just two players to rank in the country’s Top 30 in points, steals and blocks per game – the stats backing up an archetype of a two-way competitor.

Eight games into the 2020-21 campaign, Guirantes has already claimed an ESPN National Player of the Week award and two Big Ten Player of the Week accolades, while becoming just the third player in program history and one of just eight players across the nation this year to record a triple-double. She ranks in the nation’s Top 30 in points, assists, steals and blocks per game, a rare feat with that level of production across all four statistical categories.

Guirantes was named a Big Ten Coaches Preseason Co-Player of the Year and earned three mentions on preseason watch lists for National Player of the Year, in addition to the Watch List for the nation’s top shooting guard in the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. These honors follow the 2019-20 season in which she was the Big Ten scoring champion and the No. 9 ranked scorer in the nation with 20.6 points per game, an All-America Honorable Mention by the AP, WBCA and USBWA, and First Team All-Big Ten.

The 2020-21 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	CLASS	POSITION	SCHOOL	CONFERENCE
Aliyah	Boston	So.	F	South Carolina	SEC
Veronica	Burton	Jr.	G	Northwestern	Big Ten
Kate	Cain	Sr.	C	Nebraska	Big Ten
Charli	Collier	Jr.	F/C	Texas	Big 12
Elissa	Cunane	Jr.	C	NC State	ACC
Arella	Guirantes	Sr.	G	Rutgers	Big Ten
Sara	Hamson	Sr.	C	BYU	WCC
N’dea	Jones	Sr.	F	Texas A&M	SEC
Natasha	Mack	Sr.	F	Oklahoma State	Big 12
Aari	McDonald	Sr.	G	Arizona	Pac-12
Nancy	Mulkey	Sr.	C	Rice	C-USA
Olivia	Nelson-Ododa	Jr.	F	UConn	BIG EAST
Chasity	Patterson	Sr.	G	Kentucky	SEC
DiDi	Richards	Sr.	G	Baylor	Big 12
Sage	Stobbart	Jr.	P	UC Davis	Big West