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Five players stood out after another exciting week of women’s college basketball. Here’s this week’s Starting Five.
Jane Asinde, Wichita State
Wichita State forward Jane Asinde averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and one steal, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field as the Cyclones scored a pair of wins last week over Montana and Loyola Marymount University (LMU).
The Uganda native opened the LMU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25 with a 20-point, 19-rebound effort in a 78-69 overtime win over Montana. Her 19 rebounds were a career high.
The very next night, Asinde dropped a career-high 22 points, 15 rebounds and had four steals in a 69-57 victory over LMU. This season, Asinde has three double-doubles in the four games she’s played.
Wichita State, 5-1, will next host Denver on Nov. 30.
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Emily Kiser, Michigan
Michigan graduate student Emily Kiser was named the MVP of the Gulf Coast Showcase, averaging 18.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as the Wolverines rolled to wins over Air Force, South Florida and Baylor to improve to 7-0 on the season.
In the championship game against No. 21 Baylor on Nov. 27, Kiser went for a career-best 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season as Michigan prevailed 84-75. She narrowly missed a double-double against South Florida on Nov. 26, finishing with 10 points, nine boards, two assists and two steals. In Michigan’s opening win over Air Force (Nov. 25), Kiser had 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
On the season, Kiser has tallied five 20-point games and is currently second in the Big Ten in scoring at 20.1 points per game.
Michigan is back in action on Dec. 1, playing at Miami (Florida) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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Jaida Patrick, Columbia
Senior Jaida Patrick led Columbia to the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament title, averaging a tournament-high 20.5 points as the Lions scored wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Miami (Florida).
In Sunday’s championship against Miami, the second-year Columbia transfer out of Duke scored a career-high 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She hit each of her first three 3-point attempts on her way to 14 first-quarter points, which tied for the third-most in a quarter in Columbia history. Patrick went on to net 11 more in the fourth quarter as the Lions erased a five-point deficit for their third straight victory over an ACC opponent. Patrick also scored a game-high 16 in Friday’s 95-57 blowout victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
For the year, Patrick now averages 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. She is one of five Lions averaging double-figures scoring and one of four shooting over 40 percent from the 3-point line.
With Sunday’s win over Miami, the Lions are now 2-1 against teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Lions also defeated reigning Colonial Athletic Conference champions Delaware earlier this year on the road, 64-56. Their only loss came at No. 5 Iowa State.
Columbia, 5-2, next prepares for two home games this week, beginning with Marist on Dec. 1, followed by Lafayette on Saturday.
RANKINGS: View the latest women’s basketball AP poll
Alissa Pili, Utah
Utah junior forward Alissa Pili led 16th-ranked Utah to two wins last week at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, averaging 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on 15-23 shooting (78.3%).
In Utah’s 93-86 tournament-opening win over Alabama on Nov. 21, Pili tallied 18 points on 7-9 shooting, and added two rebounds, along with two assists and one steal. She followed that up two days later by leading the Utes in scoring in a gritty 69-67 win over Ole Miss to close out the tournament. Pili’s night included 21 points on 8-14 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. She made all nine free throws she attempted in the two games.
Pili ranks sixth in the country in field-goal percentage (68.1%) this season, No. 1 among all Pac-12 Conference players. Through six games, Utah ranks second nationally in scoring, averaging 95.0 points per game. The Utes also rank second in assists per game (21.7), third in field-goal percentage (52.4) and fifth in made free throws per game (20.0).
Utah, 6-0, is back in action on Thursday at Mississippi Valley State, part of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series.
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Angel Reese, LSU
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) leader in scoring and rebounding, Angel Reese of LSU averaged 23 points, 14.5 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal per game last week as the Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season with a pair of wins at the Goombay Splash played in the Bahamas.
With 19 rebounds in an 80-52 win against George Mason on Nov. 24, Reese tied her career-high which she had set in LSU’s previous game against Northwestern State. That gave her five consecutive games with at least 15 rebounds. She closed the tournament with 25 points with 10 rebounds in her seventh straight double-double as a Tiger as LSU rolled by UAB, 99-64 on Nov. 26. The seven-game double-double streak is LSU’s longest such streak since Sylvia Fowles had 19 in a row during the 2007-08 season.
The leading scorer in the SEC (23.1 points per game), Reese is currently averaging 4.31 points more than the next closest player. She is also leading in rebounding at 15.3 rebounds per game. The transfer from Maryland has been critical in helping LSU lead the nation in scoring at 103.3 points per game through seven games.
LSU defeated Southeastern La. on Nov. 29 and will host Tulane, Dec. 4.