Delaware State guard Raquel Collier is listed among the initial NCAA Division I candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for the 2007-08 women’s basketball season.

CLASS, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, was created in 2001 in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving school early to turn professional.

Candidates are selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, including academic success, character and community service.

Collier, a two-time All-MEAC First Team selection, enters her senior season with 1,106 points. She has led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons. During the 2006-07 season, Collier averaged 13.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game to lead the Lady Hornets to their first MEAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. She was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 MEAC Tournament and led all players with 22 points in DSU’s NCAA Tournament loss to second-seeded Vanderbilt.

“Raquel is certainly deserving of consideration for the CLASS award,” said Delaware State head coach Ed Davis. “She has worked extremely hard on and off the court to exemplify the qualities that are recognized by this prestigious award.”

From the initial list, ten CLASS award finalists will be selected by the media and announced in February. The winner will be announced during the NCAA Tournament Final Four next April.

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