ESPNW Player of the Week

[Shades]

I started this thread last year, but never got to it this year. Have a little catching up to do.


Charlie Creme, Graham Hays and Mechelle Voepel each vote to determine espnW's national player of the week.

Week | Player
1. Sabrina Ionescu
2. Aari McDonald
3. Jaelyn Brown
4. Dana Evans
5. Megan Walker
6. Ashley Joens
7. Charli Collier
8. Kaila Charles
9. Rhyne Howard
10. Ja'Tavia Tapley
11. Sabrina Ionescu
12. Tyasha Harris
13. Naz Hillmon
14. Kiah Gillespie
15. DJ Williams
16. Lindsey Pulliam
17. Sam Brunelle

———————————————————
Week 1

Oregon's Ionescu is espnW's player of the week

Oregon hasn't played a game that counts, but the senior guard's 30 points to help the Ducks knock off Team USA couldn't be overlooked.

www.espn.com

Ionescu's performance Saturday in the No. 1-ranked Ducks' 93-86 victory over the U.S. national team -- even though it was an exhibition game -- was impossible to overlook.

Also considered: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Brice Calip, Missouri State; Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Gabby Connally, Georgia; Carlie Littlefield, Princeton; Blanca Millan, Maine; Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State; Sara Rhine, Drake; Satou Sabally, Oregon


Week 2

Arizona's Aari McDonald is the espnW player of the week

By halftime Sunday, the junior guard led No. 22 Texas 22-19 by herself. Then she scored 22 more after the break on her way to a school-record 44 points.

www.espn.com

Capped by a school-record 44 points in Sunday's blowout win on the road against No. 22 Texas, McDonald did more than enough to make sure the unbeaten Wildcats enter the AP Top 25 this week. She also did plenty to claim espnW player of the week honors.

Also considered: Nia Clouden, Michigan State; Rennia Davis, Tennessee; Emilija Krista Grava, Wagner; Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State; Ajah Wayne, Old Dominion


Week 3

Cal's Jaelyn Brown is espnW's player of the week

The Pac-12 continues to dominate our weekly honor. The senior joined an elite club, becoming just the fourth Bear with a 30-point, 12-rebound game.

www.espn.com

Brown had career highs of 30 points and 12 rebounds as the Bears upset No. 20 Arkansas 84-80 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California. She went 11-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, and had 10 of her rebounds on the offensive glass.

Also considered: Queen Egbo, Baylor; Dana Evans, Louisville; Haley Gorecki, Duke; Becca Hittner, Drake; Satou Sabally, Oregon; Chante Stonewall, DePaul



Week 4

Louisville's Dana Evans is espnW's player of the week

The junior guard averaged 21.3 points in three wins at the Paradise Jam, including over Oregon, and was the key defensively against Sabrina Ionescu.

www.espn.com

In three wins at the Paradise Jam, junior guard Dana Evans averaged 21.3 points and 4.3 assists and made 11 3-pointers.

Also considered: Jaylyn Agnew, Creighton; Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Ciara Duffy, South Dakota; Kiah Gillespie, Florida State; Madinah Muhammad, North Carolina; Ali Patberg, Indiana



Week 5

UConn's Megan Walker is espnW's player of the week

More confident and more comfortable taking charge, Megan Walker came into the season prepared for more responsibility. The junior has delivered.

www.espn.com

The junior had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists against the Irish and 29 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds Thursday in a 92-78 victory over Seton Hall, earning espnW national player of the week honors.

Also considered: Taiye Bello, Minnesota; Dee Givens, Western Kentucky; Kiah Gillespie, Florida State; Rhyne Howard, Kentucky; Dorka Juhasz, Ohio State



Week 6

Iowa State's Ashley Joens is espnW's player of the week

The 6-foot sophomore, who scored 41 points Sunday, ranks second in the country with 24.4 PPG, more than doubling last season's average.

www.espn.com

Her 41 points in Sunday's win over Wright State was one shy of the school record and three more than the rest of her teammates combined. Joens also grabbed 13 rebounds -- eight of which came on the offensive end -- shot 12-of-23 from the field, drew 15 fouls with her physical play and made 15-of-16 at the free throw line on her way to being named espnW national player of the week.

Also considered: Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Elissa Cunane, NC State; Carlie Littlefield, Princeton; Kylee Shook, Louisville

 

[Shades]

Week 7

Texas' Charli Collier is espnW's player of the week

A month ago, Texas' season was spiraling. On Sunday, Charli Collier had 20 points and 19 rebounds to help the Horns knock off the nation's No. 1 team.

www.espn.com

Collier played the best game of her young career on Sunday, with 20 points and 19 rebounds to lift the Longhorns to a 69-64 upset of No. 1 Stanford, to earn espnW national player of the week honors.

Also considered: Brittany Brewer, Texas Tech; Kiah Gillespie, Florida State; Juicy Landrum, Baylor; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn; Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA

I thought it was odd that they didn’t even consider Ionescu, who had two triple doubles for the week. Dropped the ball on that one, ESPNW.

 

[eebmg]

Week 7

Texas' Charli Collier is espnW's player of the week

A month ago, Texas' season was spiraling. On Sunday, Charli Collier had 20 points and 19 rebounds to help the Horns knock off the nation's No. 1 team.

www.espn.com

Also considered: Brittany Brewer, Texas Tech; Kiah Gillespie, Florida State; Juicy Landrum, Baylor; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn; Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA

I thought it was odd that they didn’t even consider Ionescu, who had two triple doubles for the week. Dropped the ball on that one, ESPNW.

The meaning of the game and the win to the program was crucial for this award. I think that is fair.

 

[Mulder]

20 and 19 is extremely impressive in a win against the Top Team in the land.

Charli Collier deserved to be the ESPNW's Player of Week.

 

[Shades]

Week 8

Maryland's Kaila Charles is espnW's player of the week

Senior Kaila Charles and the Terps have struggled so far to live up to high preseason expectations. Will Saturday's big win be a turning point?

www.espn.com

After spending the nonconference portion of the schedule playing far below her status as a preseason All-American, Charles opened Big Ten play with a statement. Her 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals against Michigan on Saturday represented her best game of the season and propelled No. 12 Maryland to a 70-55 win over No. 23 Michigan. That performance earned Charles the espnW national player of the week.

Also considered: Ellen Margaret Andrews, Yale; Jazmine Jones, Louisville; Ali Patberg, Indiana; Cate Reese, Arizona; Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado; Davion Wingate, Florida Gulf Coast

Week 9

Kentucky's Rhyne Howard is espnW's player of the week

A career-best 37 points in a win against Tennessee capped a week of commanding performances by sophomore Rhyne Howard.

www.espn.com

The espnW player of the week made that point rather emphatically Sunday in No. 13 Kentucky's win against No. 22 Tennessee. Howard's career-best 37 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks filled the box score and gave the Wildcats their first win this season against a ranked opponent.

Also considered: Veronica Burton, Northwestern; Te'a Cooper, Baylor; Elissa Cunane, NC State; Lauren Heard, TCU; Kiara Lewis, Syracuse; Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State.


Week 10

How Arizona State upset No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Oregon State

Ja'Tavia Tapley, espnW's player of the week, and the unranked Sun Devils had the biggest upsets during one of the greatest weekends in D-I history.

www.espn.com

It's why she is the espnW player of the week after totaling 16 points and six rebounds in a 72-66 win against the Ducks and 14 points and six rebounds in a 55-47 win against the Beavers.

Also considered: Te'a Cooper, Baylor; Lauren Cox, Baylor; Kathleen Doyle, Iowa; Rhyne Howard, Kentucky; Selena Lott, Marquette; Chelsey Perry, UT-Martin; NaLyssa Smith, Baylor

 

[Plebe]

Maryland's Kaila Charles is espnW's player of the week

Senior Kaila Charles and the Terps have struggled so far to live up to high preseason expectations. Will Saturday's big win be a turning point?

www.espn.com

Also considered: Ellen Margaret Andrews, Yale; Jazmine Jones, Louisville; Ali Patberg, Indiana; Cate Reese, Arizona; Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado; Davion Wingate, Florida Gulf Coast

So this one falls into the "MVP of the ESPN-featured game" category

I would've voted for Wingate. I was just about to comment on this in the game thread, but I watched the replay last night and holy cow what a performance by her and Ulel. Not just anybody can drop 30 on Duke, am I right @triaddukefan ?

 

[Shades]

Week 11

Why Sabrina Ionescu is the best player in women's college basketball

Tara VanDerveer called Sabrina Ionescu the best player in college basketball. Who are we to argue? The Oregon senior is the Player of the Week.

www.espn.com

Ionescu totaled six rebounds in those final 18 minutes. Stanford had five.

Stanford turned over the ball 10 times in that stretch. Ionescu? Not even one.

How much more explanation is required in naming the espnW player of the week? Ionescu finished with a career-best 37 points and had 11 rebounds and seven assists in an 87-55 win.

Also considered: Ciary Duffy, South Dakota; Alex Fowler, Portland; Aliyah Jeune, USC; Ayanna Mitchell, LSU; Kristen Spolyard, Butler

 

[domerduck]

Week 11

Why Sabrina Ionescu is the best player in women's college basketball

Tara VanDerveer called Sabrina Ionescu the best player in college basketball. Who are we to argue? The Oregon senior is the Player of the Week.

www.espn.com

This is Sabrina's second weekly award as she is one of 4 different PAC12 players with the weekly award, and none of those 3 others are from any of the other 3 top 10 PAC12 teams. The other 6 award winners out of 11 total include 2 from the Big12 and 1 each from SEC, Big 10, ACC, and AAC (Walker from UConn). The other way the PAC12 has affected this award is 2 of the other 6 earned the award for their performace providing the 1st loss to a then #1 PAC12 team: Dana Evans of L'ville when they beat Oregon and Charlie Collier of Texas when they beat Stanford.

Also it will be interesting who gets it this coming week considering 2 of the 3 top 10 matchups (#1 SC vs #9 MSU and the 2 Civil Wars-#4 Oregon vs #7 OSU) are from the PAC12. There are only 4 other ranked on ranked games: tonite where #20 Md beat #17 Indiana at home. Thursday's #23 Tennessee at #3 UConn, Friday's Territorial War #16 ASU at #18 Arizona, and Sunday's Big 10 battle of #22 Northwestern at #20 Maryland, where one of those games is also a PAC12 match-up. Tyasha Harris with her 23 points/7 assists or Boston with her 21 pts/12 rebounds may have made their mark tonite in the 2 point comenack win and they have one more shot this week at Georgia. .Still I can see an Oregon State player getting it if they earn a split (like when Goodman got it last year) and especially if they win both. Of couse if the Ducks win both big I can see another Duck getting it. Of course if Tennessee upsets UConn, their best player will probably get it.

Lots of options but could be another PAC12 winner. We will see depending on the games.

 

[Shades]

Week 12

Why South Carolina's Tyasha Harris is one of the top point guards in the country

Tyasha Harris, who scored the final five points to lead South Carolina past Mississippi State in a top-10 showdown, is espnW's player of the week.

www.espn.com

Harris, espnW's national player of the week, delivered on and off the court in the biggest game of the year in the SEC. And now South Carolina is expected to remain No. 1 for the third week in a row when Monday's AP Top 25 poll comes out.

Also considered: Rennia Davis, Tennessee; Kathleen Doyle, Iowa; Vivian Gray, Oklahoma State; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon; Aari McDonald, Arizona; Satou Sabally, Oregon; Jill Townsend, Gonzaga

 

[domerduck]

Make sense as I thought she had the best line against MSU. Still nice to see 3 Ducks considered as well as Aari with their wins over their ranked rivals.

 

[Shades]

Week 13

How Naz Hillmon's big week helped Michigan stay on the right side of the bubble

The 6-foot-2 sophomore scored a career-high 30 points Sunday to help Michigan upset No. 18 Iowa and split a pair of games against ranked teams.

www.espn.com

She had a career-high 30 points, plus 10 rebounds, as Michigan upset No. 18 Iowa 78-63 in Ann Arbor on Sunday. That and her 27-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist game, albeit in a loss, against No. 23 Northwestern on Thursday earned Hillmon the espnW national player of the week.

Also considered: Kelly Campbell, DePaul; Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon; Aari McDonald, Arizona; Khayla Pointer, LSU; Lindsay Pulliam, Northwestern

 

[triaddukefan]

Meh....

 

[Shades]

Week 14

How Kiah Gillespie helped Florida State pull one of the best road upsets of the season

Florida State's promising season was slipping away. But Kiah Gillespie, espnw's player of the week, had a double-double to topple No. 5 Louisville.

www.espn.com

Kiah Gillespie helped make it the right time. Her 25-point, 13-rebound performance was the exact lift her team needed to pull the 67-59 upset on the road. Gillespie followed that up with 22 points and eight rebounds on Sunday against Virginia and is the espnW national player of the week.

Also considered: Kaila Charles, Maryland; Kathleen Doyle, Iowa; Becca Hittner, Drake; Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon; Rickea Jackson, Mississippi State; Keni Jo Lippe, Oral Roberts; Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA; Sara Rhine, Drake; Sam Simons, St. Mary's; Chante Stonewall, DePaul

 

[Shades]

Week 15

The best performance you missed last week in women's college basketball

DJ Williams broke a 34-year-old Coastal Carolina record with 51 points on Thursday, then added the second triple-double in program history on Sunday.

www.espn.com

The 5-foot-10 senior guard scored a school-record 51 points in Thursday's win over Troy. She added the third triple-double in program history in Saturday's victory over South Alabama. Is it any wonder she's espnW's national player of the week?

That's right: a 50-point game and a triple-double in the same week. That's Russell Westbrook and James Harden kind of stuff, except Williams was far more efficient than what you might see in a typical Houston Rockets game. She needed only 48 shots to score 73 points in the Chanticleers' two pivotal wins.

Also considered: Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Rhyne Howard, Kentucky; Francesca Pan, Georgia Tech; Kiana Williams, Stanford

 

[Mulder]

Congratulations to DiJanai "DJ Williams.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Week 15

The best performance you missed last week in women's college basketball

DJ Williams broke a 34-year-old Coastal Carolina record with 51 points on Thursday, then added the second triple-double in program history on Sunday.

www.espn.com

Also considered: Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Rhyne Howard, Kentucky; Francesca Pan, Georgia Tech; Kiana Williams, Stanford

Meh. I get the desire to feature mid-major conference players, but the Kiana Williams trey to steal to buzzer-beating 40 ft' game-winning trey final 12 seconds at Colorado was definitely the best performance last week. Does anyone care if you drop 50 points on a mid-major with a losing record?

Yeah, I'm biased, but I also think I'm right.

 

[Plebe]

Meh. I get the desire to feature mid-major conference players, but the Kiana Williams trey to steal to buzzer-beating 40 ft' game-winning trey final 12 seconds at Colorado was definitely the best performance last week. Does anyone care if you drop 50 points on a mid-major with a losing record?

Yeah, I'm biased, but I also think I'm right.

Not trying to change your mind or anything, but DJ Williams dropped 51 points on Troy, whose record was 17-3 coming into that game.

 

[triaddukefan]

Not trying to change your mind or anything, but DJ Williams dropped 51 points on Troy, whose record was 17-3 coming into that game.

Troy... A powerhouse in the Sun Belt.

 

[domerduck]

Meh. I get the desire to feature mid-major conference players, but the Kiana Williams trey to steal to buzzer-beating 40 ft' game-winning trey final 12 seconds at Colorado was definitely the best performance last week. Does anyone care if you drop 50 points on a mid-major with a losing record?

Yeah, I'm biased, but I also think I'm right.

Kiana didn't even get PAC12 POW which as I predicted Ruthie got while Pili got her third FPOW. I think it was good to reward a 51 pt game mid-major player for ESPN POW. Ruthie and Kiana were considered.

Pac-12 announces women's basketball players of the week

Pac-12 women's basketball players of the week: Player-Ruthy Hebard, Oregon, Freshman-Alissa Pili, USC.

pac-12.com

 

[nwhoopfan]

What's the only ranked PAC-12 team not to get POW at least once so far this season? Stanford. I get that we're a well balanced team with no single super-star or high-scoring seniors, but still kinda bizarre. Every other ranked program has won, as well as Cal and Washington State... I guess we deserve the basketball equivalent to the Screen Actors Guild award for "best performance by an ensemble cast" on a basketball court, since it appears we're never gonna win best actress, and yet we're ranked higher than six other teams who've won the award!

If you could combine Lexie's Friday night performance w/ Kiana's Sunday showing, that probably would've won.

 

[domerduck]

What's the only ranked PAC-12 team not to get POW at least once so far this season? Stanford. I get that we're a well balanced team with no single super-star or high-scoring seniors, but still kinda bizarre. Every other ranked program has won, as well as Cal and Washington State... I guess we deserve the basketball equivalent to the Screen Actors Guild award for "best performance by an ensemble cast" on a basketball court, since it appears we're never gonna win best actress, and yet we're ranked higher than six other teams who've won the award!

Look you should be happy your team was able to pull-off that game against Colorado which was a gift. If either of the next two weeks you get a sweep against 2 ranked teams, you'll get the POW.

 

[Shades]

Week 16

How Lindsey Pulliam put Northwestern on track for a top-16 seed

Northwestern was a preseason afterthought. Lindsey Pulliam, espnW's player of the week, has kept the Wildcats quietly rolling toward the postseason.

www.espn.com

She is the espnW national player of the week in large part because Northwestern -- a No. 3 seed in Charlie Creme's bracket projection Monday -- didn't make headlines.

Also nominated: Lavender Briggs, Florida; Amber Melgoza, Washington; Erica Ogwumike, Rice; Charisma Osborne, UCLA; Jasmine Walker, Alabama

 

[nwhoopfan]

Pulliam had a nice weekend, but I think Melgoza really deserved this. Too bad.

 

[domerduck]

Pulliam had a nice weekend, but I think Melgoza really deserved this. Too bad.

She got a deserved PAC12 POW winning two games at home, but Pulliam beat her with stats and she is the leader of a team that is ranked #14 in the country. I'd say she's more deserving. The Pac12 has had the most awards for any conference (5) so I doubt we'd get this one as we didn't get it last week. This was the 3rd award to the Big10 conference. Ruthie had a much more deserving stat line last week and beat UCLA at their place and didn't get it as they wanted to give a player from Coastal Carolina some love, although she got some other national POW awards.

Here is the comparison
Amber Melgoza, 2 GP, 23.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg,.500 FG (18-36)
Lyndsey Pulliam. 2 GP, 27.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 apg,.622 FG (23-372,
Ruthy Hebard, 2 GP, 26.0 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, .719 FG pct (23-32)

 

[WestCoast]

Pulliam had a nice weekend, but I think Melgoza really deserved this. Too bad.

Pulliam has a nice looking jumper. Glad to see her get the weekly award. I have noticed that she has had some very rough shooting games this season, but her green light remains strong. I think that she is shooting less than 40% from the field this season while averaging 19.3 points per game.