basketball-women-d1 flag

Rick Nixon | NCAA | December 21, 2022

LSU's Angel Reese joins 20/20 club to headline this week's women's basketball Starting Five

South Carolina is locked into the top spot of the Power 10 rankings

Last week presented a number of standout performances in women's college basketball. Here are five of the best through games played through Monday, Dec. 19.

Domonique Davis, Southern Mississippi

Southern Mississippi junior guard Domonique Davis was named MVP of the Long Beach Classic last weekend after helping lead the Lady Eagles to a pair of victories.
 
Davis opened the tournament with 13 points, five assists and two steals as Southern Mississippi defeated UC Irvine, 50-45 on Dec. 16.
 
In her final performance on the West Coast, Davis rose to the occasion, playing all 40 minutes, scoring 20 points with two assists, four rebounds and two steals as Southern Mississippi scored a come-from-behind 56-50 victory over Long Beach State on Dec. 17.
 
Davis is currently the leading scorer in the Sun Belt Conference, averaging 20.8 points per game through the first 11 games of the season.
 
Southern Mississippi, 7-4, will be back in action on Dec. 29, opening Sun Belt play at Troy.

POWER 10 RANKINGS: See the latest women's basketball Power 10 rankings

Aleah Nelson, Temple

Temple point guard Aleah Nelson had one of the best games of any Temple player in years during Friday's 66-60 win over Duquesne.
 
The senior scored 33 points, including her 1,000th career point, in the win. Her 33 points are the most of any Owl since Mia Davis put up 33 against Houston on Feb. 5, 2019. It is also the second most points of any player in the American Athletic Conference this year. Nelson went 11-23 from the field (.478) and 7-17 from deep (.412), her seven made threes are tied with fellow Owl Tarriyona Gary for the most of any player in the American this season.
 
Temple, 5-6, returns to action on Dec. 21 as the Owls host Ole Miss.

BIGGEST SURPRISES: 5 things we didn't see coming this women's basketball season

Angel Reese, LSU

LSU’s Angel Reese had three dominant and historical performances leading the Tigers into the holiday break with a 12-0 record.
 
Reese had three more double-doubles against Lamar, Montana State and Oregon State. She has recorded a double-double in every one of LSU’s 12 games this season and is now tied with Sylvia Fowles for the fifth most double-doubles in a season by a Tiger as Fowles had 12 total during the 2004-05 season. Reese’s 12-straight double-doubles is the longest streak by a Tiger since Fowles had 19 in a row during the 2006-07 season.
 
The Baltimore, Maryland, native who is in her first season at LSU began her week with a stat line basketball has not seen in at least the past 20 seasons. In LSU’s 88-42 win over Lamar on Dec. 14, Reese became the first NBA, WNBA or Division I men’s or women’s player in the past 20 years with 30-plus points, 15-plus rebounds, 4-plus assists, 4-plus steals while shooting over 80-percent in a single game. With 32 points in the performance, Reese set a new career-high.
 
LSU then made the journey to Maui and in her first game on the island against Montana State on Dec. 17, Reese scored 30 and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Tigers rolled 91-52. With 32 against Lamar and 30 against MSU, Reese became the first LSU player since Elaine Powell in the 1995-96 season with consecutive 30-plus point games.
 
To cap off the week, Reese recorded the 20th 20/20 game in LSU history with 25 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as LSU defeated Oregon State, 87-55 on Dec. 18. Reese became the fifth Tiger in the 20/20 club. It was LSU’s first 20/20 since Fowles had 24 and 20 against Tennessee in the 2008 Women’s Final Four. Also during Sunday’s game, Reese surpassed 1,000 career points.
 
LSU will return to action on Dec. 29, opening Southeastern Conference play with a road game at Arkansas.

ROCK CHALK: Undefeated Kansas earns women's basketball Team of the Week

Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga

Gonzaga extended its winning streak to four games and reeled off two West Coast Conference wins as senior guard Kaylynne Truong enjoyed a career-week.
 
Currently ranked No. 22 in the nation in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, Gonzaga opened WCC play on Saturday with a 67-58 win over Brigham Young as Truong scored a career-high 24 points. After BYU led by three at halftime, Truong’s old fashioned three-point play midway through the third quarter turned the tide, giving the Bulldogs the lead and momentum. Truong was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Prior to her 24-point outing against BYU, Truong’s career-high was 22 points at No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 4.
 
On Dec. 19, Truong followed that up with 20 points as Gonzaga improved to 2-0 in WCC play with a 70-59 win over San Diego. The 20-point performance was Truong’s fourth of the young season.
 
Gonzaga, 11-2 overall, will next host Montana on Dec. 21 in its final non-conference game of the regular season.

Katelyn Young, Murray State

Murray State junior Katelyn Young averaged 23 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists over a two-game week as the Racers split a pair of games and scored an upset win over Kentucky.
 
On Dec. 13, Young scored a career-high 32 points in a 71-67 home loss to Austin Peay. The Racers were unable to hold on to a 20-point lead in the game despite Young going 9-for-17 from the floor and 13 for 15 at the free throw line. She also added seven rebounds and three assists to her stat line for the night.
 
Young followed that up with 14 points against Kentucky as Murray State prevailed 51-44 on the road. The win gave Murray State its first win over the Kentucky since 1973, putting a stop to a 16-game skid against the Wildcats in the process. The win is also the first for the Racers over a current "Power 5" team since beating TCU in 1988.
 
The forward pulled down seven rebounds in each game and added three assists against the Govs and a block against the Wildcats. She finished the week shooting 14-for-28 from the floor (.500), 2-for-5 from 3-point range (.400) and 16-for-19 from the free throw line (.842).
 
Young and the Racers, 6-2, returned to action on Dec. 20 when they closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule in Bellarmine.

Gonzaga's home loss to LMU was a college basketball upset years in the making

The essence of college basketball is its upsets, writes NCAA.com's Mike Lopresti, and the one authored by LMU on Thursday night ranks way up there on the shock meter.
READ MORE

Longest active home winning streaks in college basketball (after Gonzaga loss)

With the Bulldogs' loss to Loyola Marymount, here's who leads DI men's basketball in protecting home court the best.
READ MORE

9 gifts men's basketball has given us entering the holiday season

It's the holiday season. Let's all get into the spirit by reflecting on the gift-like moments men's basketball has given us so far.
READ MORE

Subscribe To Email Updates

Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners