UConn freshman guard Kia Nurse is a finalist for the Golden Horseshoe Award, given to the top amateur or professional athlete from the towns of Hamilton or Burlington, Ontario.

Nurse was a starter on the Canadian national team which posted a surprising fifth-place finish at the FIBA World Championship for Women. Nurse, the youngest player on the Canadian team, finished as the team's fourth-leading scorer with an average of 6.9 points per game and was tied for second with seven steals in seven games. She has started the last 18 games as a freshman at UConn, is fourth on the team averaging 11.9 points per game and is third on the team with 64 assists and 37 steals.

Lacrosse standout Joey Cupido. Laura Fortino, who is a star on the Canadian women's hockey national team and Eleanor Harvey, the top-ranked junior fencer in the world, are the other candidates for the award which will be announced on Feb. 26.

Nurse was also a finalist a year ago but golfer MacKenzie Hughes won the award.