OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (Jan. 23, 2015) - Saint Francis U senior captain Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) has been recognized as one of 30 candidates for the 2014-15 women's basketball Senior CLASS Award. Student-athletes eligible for the award must be an NCAA Division I senior while excelling in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition.

Hayward currently ranks fourth in the NCAA in scoring at 24.0 points per game. The Beaver Falls, Pa. native led the nation in scoring for over a month earlier this season and has reached the 30-point plateau on five separate occasions.

The senior guard also leads the Red Flash in assists per game at 4.2, which ranks fourth in the Northeast Conference. She also leads the league in three-point field goals made with 47 and is currently third in free throw percentage at 83.5%. Hayward, who was nominated by her Athletics Communications Director, is the lone candidate from the NEC.

Hayward holds a 3.664 GPA as a Communication Arts major at Saint Francis U. Fans can view her official Senior CLASS Award candidate profile here

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Among the 60 candidates, 27 have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher. Three of this year's candidates were 2013-14 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans® and four are returning All-Americans. More than 20 of the 32 NCAA Division I basketball-playing conferences are represented as well.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four®.

Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

Women's Basketball Candidates
Sunejiro Agbuke, Baylor
Samantha Logic, Iowa
Sharane Campbell-Olds, Oklahoma
Ally Malott, Dayton
Audrey Dotson, Bucknell
Chakecia Miller, George Washington
Ariana Elegado, Cal Poly
Lexie Nelson, Eastern Washington
Nicole Elmblad, Michigan
Sabina Oroszova, Eastern Illinois
Nneka Enemkpali, Texas
Amber Orrange, Stanford
Alexis Govan, Western Kentucky
Megan Rogowski, DePaul
Ashlee Guay, CSUN
Heidi Schlegel, Youngstown State
Isabelle Harrison, Tennessee
Haley Seibert, IPFW
Alexa Hayward (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk), Saint Francis U
Jama Sharp, Stetson
Emiliy Homan, Lafayette
Kiah Stokes, Connecticut
Andrea Hoover, Dayton
Shawnee Sweeney, Maryland–East. Shore
Jamie Kaplan, Tulane
Elizabeth Williams, Duke
Sina King, Akron
Michelle Young, Bradley
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Inma Zanoguera, Toledo