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Like just about every level of the sport, women’s college basketball has been consumed by the three-point revolution. Long-range attempts have risen by more than 10% in the last decade, and a certain audacious Hawkeye has drawn millions of new eyes to the sport thanks to her audacious shooting performances.
Here’s a look at the ten best shooters leading women’s college basketball into a brave new world:
1. Caitlin Clark, Iowa (27.8 PPG, 38.9 3PT%)
While Clark seems to dominate just about every hardwood category these days in Iowa City, shooting is the foundation upon which her rising celebrity was built. Clark immediately led the nation in scoring as a freshman and finished fourth in three-point attempts, later overcoming a sophomore slump to post similarly transcendent numbers last season en route to a national championship game and a Naismith Player of the Year award.
Clark doesn’t quite match the dead-eye shooting clips featured below, but her percentage is hindered by the eighth-highest usage rate in college basketball and a willingness to shoot from just about any cornfield in Iowa — when the Globetrotters finally win their four-point line crusade, Clark will cruise to an effective field goal crown.
Looking to replace the talented front-court duo of Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock, Iowa will lean on Clark’s limitless range more than ever in hopes of returning to the Final Four.
A NEW SEASON: Check out the preseason top 25 rankings
2. Hannah Jump, Stanford (11.2 PPG, 44.1 3PT%)
Even walking through the revered halls of Stanford University, it’s hard to find anyone in Palo Alto who’s perfected their craft more than Hannah Jump has the three-point shot.
A lifelong Bay Area resident, Jump shot more than 76% of her attempts from distance and converted at a stunning 44% clip, among the very best in college basketball. Tirelessly circling the three-point arc, Jump constantly dips behind screens and interprets space on the perimeter to set up open jump shots.
Jump was the third-leading scorer last season and led the team in minutes, but with back-court partner Haley Jones off to the WNBA, Jump may be asked to step beyond her specialist role and become a more versatile scorer.
3. Brynna Maxwell, Gonzaga (13.5 PPG, 48.1 3PT%)
Wrapping up the ‘20-21 season with an unsightly 12-40 stretch from three, a stark fall from grace seemed to befall Brynna Maxwell, one of the nation’s most promising young shooters hardly a year earlier
The girl from Gig Harbor had immediately jumped into a starting role as a freshman at Utah, shooting better than 47% from distance. However, Maxwell’s average would dip starkly by 14 points the following season before rising back to 38% her junior year and exploding to 48% in ‘22-23 after transferring to Gonzaga.
With one of the quickest releases in college basketball, Maxwell proves to be a diverse perimeter scorer, showing comfort on both catch-and-shoot and off-dribble opportunities
FOLLOW ALONG: Scores and stats for every game this upcoming season
4. Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga (15.8 PPG, 42.2 3PT%)
It’s hardly a surprise to see another Zag feature on this list, — GU ranked No. 1 in three-point percentage last season — and along with a backcourt Truong and Maxwell also share remarkably similar career paths.
Truong has spent the last four years in Spokane, bursting onto the scene as a sharp-shooting freshman — the Houston native managed a 44% clip from deep — before overcoming relatively errant sophomore and junior campaigns to shine in ‘22-23.
Also averaging five assists a contest, the fifth-year veteran is undoubtedly one of college basketball’s best point guards and will look to lead Gonzaga to its seventh-straight tournament appearance.
5. Sydney Taylor, Louisville (16.1 PPG, 38.5 3PT%)
Facing the Herculean task of replacing all 1,364 of Hailey Van Lith’s minutes — the most totaled in D-1 — after her blockbuster transfer to LSU, Louisville coach Jeff Walz managed to lure in one of the portal’s best options.
Taylor spent the last four years as an Amherst Ironwoman, starting each of UMass’ last 90 games and developing into one of the highest-volume perimeter scorers in America — the fifth-year star finished seventh nationally with 8.2 three-point attempts per contest.
Most notably a game-tying buzzer-beater to force overtime in the A-10 Tournament Championship Game, Taylor has already hit several immense shots and will hope both her shooting pedigree and clutch gene survive the rigors of ACC play.
6. Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina (13.1 PPG, 42.4 3PT%)
South Carolina’s new-look stable of guards received high praise from its Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley this preseason, referring specifically to Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao as the “best backcourt she’s ever coached.”
And while Johnson is a relatively unproven commodity, Paopao has spent the last three years leading Oregon and scorching perimeter defenses around the PAC-12. Like many on this list, Paopao endured an acute sophomore slump, falling to just 31% shooting from deep, but the California native rallied to shoot better than 42% from three last year.
Paopao convents most of her long balls off catch-and-shoot openings but has demonstrated a penchant for tough shot-making on the perimeter.
7. Sammie Puisus, South Florida (15.6 PPG, 38.7 3PT%)
Puisus traded a panhandle for a peninsula, transferring to South Florida after three seasons at Florida State in a decision that paid immediate dividends on the hardwood.
With varying degrees of playing time and offensive opportunity, her time in Tallahassee featured inconsistent shooting splits and pedestrian stat lines. Immediately upon arriving in Tampa, however, Puisus’ scoring output tripled and she was given full reign in the Bulls attack, attempting nearly 8.5 triples a game.
Puisus quakes boots with 30-foot pump fakes, demonstrating a willingness to shoot from well beyond the three-point line while working extremely hard off the ball to generate open looks.
8. Abbey Hsu, Columbia (17.8 PPG, 37.7 3PT%)
The Ivy League’s single-season record holder for three-pointers is back in the Big Apple for another season, trying to help Columbia one-up a WNIT Finals appearance and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Hsu was one of the most voluminous perimeter shooters in all of college basketball, finishing second in threes made and fourth in attempts. Rising high with confidence, Hsu ably uses her near six-foot frame to shoot over her Ivy League competition while also possessing a devastating mid-range dribble pull-up.
9. Frida Formann, Colorado (12 PPG, 39.2 3PT%)
Making the intercontinental journey from Denmark to Boulder, the wispy mountain air appears to be good for Formann’s shooting stroke. Through three years in Colorado Formann has been a stellar 36% shooter, but the 2022-23 campaign elevated her to a completely different plateau, seeing her knock down four in ten long-range shots on 6.6 attempts per game.
Formann also relished the bright lights last season, notching a pair of 20-point performances and shooting 45% from deep in three NCAA tournament games, helping Colorado to its first Sweet 16 since 2003.
10. Paige Bueckers, Connecticut (20 PPG, 46 3PT% [2021 stats])
Having played just 13 games since the 2021 Final Four, a look at Bueckers’ current game relies heavily on guesswork. However, a look back at 2021, Bueckers’ last complete season, reveals one of the most effective shooters in college basketball.
The three-point shot hasn’t been Bueckers’ preferred mode of offense, opting for a three on just 26.4% of total attempts in 2021, but when presented with an opportunity the former No. 1 overall recruit sank with the sport’s best. Bueckers’ perimeter shooting waned in an injury-shortened 2021-22 season, converting at a 35.3% clip, and missed all of last season with an ACL tear, but her pedigree and track record still suggest she likely belongs among the nation’s best shooters.