OVERLAND PARK, KAN. - Texas A&M women's basketball senior forward Adaora Elonu was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Friday.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's 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.Â
A product of Houston, Elonu graduated in just three years from Texas A&M with a bachelor's degree in allied health in August 2011. She carried a 3.56 GPA across the stage and is currently working towards a master's degree in health education. Elonu is a two-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 Team.
A three-year captain, Elonu leads her team off the court as much as she does on it. She is very active with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and for the past two years has been a member of the FCA Leadership Council and FCA Gameday. She is one of the most community-involved student-athletes at Texas A&M volunteering with Aggies Can, Special Olympics, Junior Aggie Clinics, local elementary schools, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Atria Senior Living in Houston and her local church to name a few.
Named "Ms. Consistency" by head coach Gary Blair, Elonu has played in all but one game in her collegiate career (as a freshman) and started 34 of 38 games last season, to help lead her team to its first national championship in program history. She averaged 5.9 rebounds as the team's second-leading rebounder and 8.4 points, tallying three double-doubles. Elonu reached double figures 14 times and led the team in rebounding eight times. She also became the 22nd A&M player to reach 500 career rebounds late last season.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the women's Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four®, held April 1 and 3 in Denver.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through 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, Division I women's coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.