The 2023 Finnerty Leadership Award recipient, Elizabeth Hernandez, has served as a great contributor to the Pace Athletics Department over the years, specifically the women's basketball program. Through her incredible generosity and philanthropic efforts, Hernandez has opened many doors for our women's basketball student-athletes and has allowed Pace to continue to provide a high-level student-athlete experience.

Hernandez was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. She played for the women’s basketball team during the early years of the program from 1979-83. She was the first 1,000-point scorer in program history and graduated as the all-time leader in assists with 618. She currently ranks 21st in career points with 1,063 and is fourth in career assists. She is the all-time leader in steals with 493 and also holds the single season steals record with 160 in 1981-82 and the single game record of 14. In addition, she is the single game record holder in assists with 21.