Maya Moore earns 3-peat

Connecticut senior Maya Moore is the first three-time winner of Wade Trophy.

The award, given by the WBCA and the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, was established in 1978 and is named for Margaret Wade, one of the most outstanding basketball coaches and pioneers in the game. It’s considered “The Heisman of Women’s Basketball,” and is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year.

“For the last four years women’s basketball fans have been blessed with the opportunity to watch one of the greatest talents to ever play this game,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “Maya Moore personifies the purity of the game. She represents the best this game has to offer”

This season, Moore is averaging just above 23 points per game and is the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer. Earlier this season, she became the seventh player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to score more then 3,000 career points.

Last year, Moore joined Seimone Augustus (2005 and 2006) and Nancy Lieberman (1979 and 1980) as the only two-time recipients of the Wade Trophy.

She has posted a 150-3 record at UConn.

Moore has led the Huskies to four Final Four appearances and four Big East championships during her career.

The Huskies play Notre Dame on Sunday in a national semifinal.

She was also named to the 2011 All-America Team.