Northeastern senior guard Kendall Currence was named the 2022 Pat Summitt Most Courageous award winner by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Friday morning.

The USBWA Most Courageous award dates back to 1977-78, annually honoring a player, coach, official, or administrator who demonstrates extraordinary courage reflecting honor on the sport of amateur basketball. In addition to the award, the USBWA presents a $1,000 check to the charity or scholarship fund as selected by the recipient.

With the achievement, Currence is the first member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) to be honored with the award.

Northeastern’s senior leader has shown tremendous perseverance off the court, overcoming adversity to get to where she is today. Currence has undergone more than a dozen surgeries for her cleft lip and palate. Additionally, she overcame three holes in her heart, a heart mummer and a bicuspid aortic valve.

Currence, an All-CAA first-team selection this season, has translated her determination off the court to her success on it. As a freshman, Currence averaged 5.7 points per game, increasing that mark to 8.6 as a sophomore and 10.7 last season. In her senior campaign, the Bourne, Mass. native is scoring 16.0 points per game and ranks seventh in the CAA. She has been the undisputed leader for the Huskies on the court, starting all 26 games she has played this year after starting just 13 in her previous three seasons combined. Currence has been the Huskies leading scorer in 18 games this season, highlighted by a career-high 31 points on January 28.

In addition, the senior is also a member of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe with her family and is actively involved in the community. She's volunteered at Plimouth Plantation as a guest interpreter, appeared on "60 Minutes" for a story on the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project, and more.

The award will be presented on Friday, April 1, in Minneapolis during the Women’s Final Four.