France’s Celine Dumerc has been named as the FIBA Europe Women’s Player of the Year for 2012.
For those that have followed the women’s game over the last 12 months, Dumerc was an obvious choice. The Bourges Basket guard easily won the fan and expert voting polls, seeing off Eva Viteckova of the Czech Republic and Russia’s Becky Hammon.
The obvious highlight for Dumerc was her performance at the London Olympics where she led France to a surprise silver medal but despite falling one game short, she had earned respect from opposition teams and the media present with her displays.
Dumerc averaged 14 points in London and hit some clutch shots, most notably against the hosts Great Britain where she forced overtime and then hit a three in the final second of the extra period to give France the win.
“In London, Dumerc showed her maturity in assuring her country would be the best finishing of the European teams at the Olympics. Having seen her performances there, it is of little surprise to see the fans and experts agreeing that she deserves this award,” FIBA Europe President Olafur Rafnsson said.
