Dec. 11, 2002

Duquesne University's senior forward Beth Friday has been nominated for the 2002 Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced recently. This is the third straight year that the Pittsburgh native and Upper St. Clair High School grad has been selected as one of the five finalists for this prestigious awards. Beth is pacing the 6-1 Dukes with 13.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game so far this season.

Competing with Friday are Edna Campbell, Sacramento Monarchs guard; Swin Cash, Detroit Shock forward; Kelly Mazzante, Penn State guard; and the lone non-basketball player, golfer Carol Semple Thompson. (Please click on the link below to vote for the Dapper Dan Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year.) Voting will end on Wednesday, December 18th at 5:00 p.m.

Friday, who holds the Dukes' rebounding record for each class year with 297 as a freshman, 298 as a sophomore and 271 last year as a junior, is now the all-time top rebounder in Duquesne's women's basketball history. She passed DU Hall of Fame Inductee Kathy Ridilla's mark of 928 this past Saturday when she grabbed the seventh of 11 rebounds in the win over the Towson Tigers. She currently has 944 rebounds and is well on the way to becoming the first Duke to hit 1,000 boards and points. With 16 points in Monday night's win over the Toledo Rockets, Friday now has 1,103 points and is in ninth place among DU's best scorers.

A starter since her freshman season, Beth has recorded five double-doubles in the Dukes' seven games this season and now has 37 for her not-yet-completed career. A first team All-Atlantic 10 preseason pick, Friday was named to the A-10 first team following her junior campaign, was a second-team selection after her sophomore year and was an All-Rookie pick as a freshman.

In her senior year at USC High, Friday averaged 21.7 points, 16.9 rebounds and 7.8 blocks per game and was named the 1999 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Female Athlete of the Year. She led Upper St. Clair to a 30-2 record and the school's first PIAA state title in 1999 and totaled 1,367 points and 1,040 rebounds during her prep career. Beth also was a successful goalie on USC's soccer team and was named to the all-state and all-WPIAL teams.

Friday is clearly the leader on this year's squad, which is now taking a break for the semester finals before returning to the hardwood in Morgantown, WV, on Sat. Dec. 21 when they will take on the Big East's West Virginia Mountaineers. So far, Beth has led DU to wins over cross-town rivals Pittsburgh and Robert Morris.

In addition, the business major was named to the Verizon District II Academic All-America Second Team amd the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Coonference team last season.

Winners will be honored at the 67th Annual Sportsman of the Year Banquet, scheduled for Sunday, February 9, 2003 at the Pittsburgh Hilton. Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, and Fox Sports Broadcaster, Terry Bradshaw, will also be inducted into the Dapper Dan Pittsburgh Hall of Fame. For tickets or information, please call Dapper Dan at 412-263-3850.

• Dapper Dan Ballot for Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year