Furman's Liebschwager To Complete In ESPN NCAA 3-Point Championship

March 27, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman University senior Melissa Liebschwager has been invited to compete in ESPN's 21st Annual College Basketball Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championship, scheduled for Apr. 2, at the Palace at Auburn Hills in Detroit, Mich., it has been announced. The event will be televised by ESPN on Apr. 2 from 9-11 p.m. ET.

Liebschwager, the nation's top 3-point shooter, will be among eight competitors for the women's title. The 5-11 guard/forward, finished her senior campaign making good on 47.0 percent of her shots from beyond the arc (70x149), a new Furman season record. She completed her career ranked second in school history in 3-point shooting accuracy (40.1%).

A native of Memphis, Tenn., she averaged 12.7 points per game for Furman this year and ranked among Southern Conference leaders in a number of categories, including 3-point FG% (47.0%/1st) 3PFG Made (3.2/1st), minutes played (36.7/1st) free throw percentage (89.0%/2nd), scoring (12.7 ppg/7th), assists (3.2/7th), assist/turnover ratio (1.4/7th), and blocked shots (1.0/12th).

Among Liebschwager's top performances this year were a trio of 21-point outings against Appalachian State. She paced the Paladins in scoring 11 contests and was named SoCon Player-of-the-Week in December for strong peformances in wins over UNC-Asheville and South Carolina State, and a loss to Texas.

A three-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll selection, she is a double major in biology and health and exercise science sporting 3.40 GPA. She will enroll in pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee in the fall.