INDIANAPOLIS -- Former University of South Alabama women's basketball student-athlete Genesis Perrymond is one of two women to be nominated by the Sun Belt Conference for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, as announced by the NCAA on Wednesday. Perrymond joins Rebekah VanDijk from UTA as the other nomination from the Sun Belt Conference.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award looks at four pillars in regards to student-athletes who are nominated: academics, athletics, service and leadership. There were 581 nominations by programs this year. Of the 581 nominees, 199 are from Division III, 131 are from Division II and Perrymond is one of 251 student-athletes to be nominated by Division I schools.

Perrymond helped lead the women's basketball program to a big turnaround during her athletic career. Her first year on campus the team won five games. During her senior season, she helped the team to 21 victories, including 11 Sun Belt wins, and a semifinal appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational, all of which were done for the first time since the 2003-04 season when the program had 22 victories and made its last postseason appearance.

Perrymond ranks sixth in program history with 123 made three-point field goals and led the team in assists during the 16-17 (89) and 17-18 seasons (134). As a junior, she led the team in three-point field goal percentage (.292), three-point field goals (45) and steals (47).

Off the court, Perrymond was active in the community and a shining star in the classroom. She was on the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List for the 2015-16 academic year and was on the conference's Academic Honor Roll for the 14-15 and 16-17 seasons. Perrmyond graduated from South Alabama in the spring of 2018 with a 3.42 GPA while majoring in Biomedical Sciences.

In the community, Perrymond was active with many different organizations during her four years at South Alabama. She was the secretary for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years, a member of the Mortar Board National Honor Society for two years, volunteered with the Mobile Special Olympics and the L'arche Maarathon for three years, along with working with various other organizations.

The next step in the process for Perrymond will be when the selection committee chooses the top-10 honorees in each division, before selecting the top-three finalists for each division in the NCAA. The Committee on Women's Athletics will then select the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year, and the winner will be announced at a ceremony on Oct. 28 in Indianapolis, Ind.