Defense plays a significant role in a team’s success, and some players excel in that area. There are some great defenders in the WNBA, and some of them were showing their abilities in college.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Year is given to an ACC player who makes an impact on the defensive end. Nikita Bell was the winner in 2005, and she averaged 3.1 steals that year. She also averaged 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Apr 5, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings assistant coach Lindsey Harding before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
After Bell won the award, the next player to win it was Lindsey Harding. Harding attended Duke, and she won the award two years in a row. She averaged 2.1 steals the first time she won, and the following year she averaged 1.5.
Harding’s final season was her best, as she also averaged 13.6 points, four rebounds and 3.9 assists to go along with her 1.5 steals. Then, after that, she headed to the WNBA.
Sep 23, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Sparks guard Lindsey Harding (20) and Phoenix Mercury guard Briana Gilbreath (15) go for the ball in the second half of game three of the Western Conference Semi-Finals at the Staples Center. Phoenix won 78-77. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Harding was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, but her time with the team was brief. She was traded to the Minnesota Lynx, as the Mercury acquired Tangela Smith. Then, Phoenix won its first championship later that year. Years later, Harding joined the Mercury, and she averaged
There is another ACC Defensive Player of the Year with Mercury ties, as LaToya Sanders was the next player to win it after Harding.
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) spins past Washington Mystics center LaToya Sanders (30) during the second quarter at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on August 7, 2018. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In her final year at North Carolina, she averaged a career-high 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. She also averaged 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals. She was effective on both ends of the floor, and after winning that award, she was drafted by the Mercury.
Sanders averaged 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. She had a nice season with Phoenix, and after that she was traded to Minnesota.
Another player with Mercury ties won the award, as Brianna Turner won in 2016, 2017 and 2019. She blocked her share of shots in her college years, and overall, she averaged 2.6 blocks. After her years with Notre Dame, she was drafted by the Atlanta Dream, and they traded her to the Mercury shortly after.
Turner played with the Mercury until they traded her to the Chicago Sky for Kahleah Copper.
In 2023, another player with ties to Phoenix won, as Celeste Taylor won. She was playing for Duke at that time, and she averaged 2.2 steals that season.
All of these players did well on the defensive end, and they brought those skills to Phoenix.
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