INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) For the season's eighth honorees for games ending Sunday, Jan. 23, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week goes to Kansas State center Ayoka Lee, the organization's Tamika Catchings women's freshman player honor goes to Florida guard Alberte Rimdal, and the USBWA women's national team citation goes to Ole Miss.
Lee, a 6-6 redshirt junior center from Byron, Minn., broke the NCAA women's record for points in a game with 61 on Sunday in the Wildcats' 94-65 upset of then-No. 14 Oklahoma, topping the Big 12 mark by 11 points and the NCAA mark owned by Long Beach State's Cindy Brown (1987) and Minnesota's Rachel Banham (2016) by one. Lee was 23-for-30 from the field (76.7 percent), without an attempted 3-point shot, and 15-for-17 from the line, and also had 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. Her 23 makes are a Big 12 record, and she is the only Division I player to shoot over 75 percent from the field on 26 or more attempts since since the 2009-10 season.
In gaining her fourth conference award of the season and helping the Wildcats return to the AP poll, earlier, she also had 25 points and 15 rebounds in a 69-61 win over Kansas last Wednesday, averaging a Big 12 record 43.0 points for the week, with 13.5 rebounds, and 66.0 percent shooting from the field. Her season averages are 25.5 ppg. and 10.9 rpg., along with 3.5 blocks.
Lee is the second player to earn this weekly national honor twice in the same season, joining Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu in the 2018-19 season.
Kansas State responded by offering several $61 ticket packages to honor the record, including a 61-hour span until Thursday at 7:10 a.m. in which fans can purchase admission to five remaining home games at $1 each.
Rimdal, a 5-9 guard from Koge, Denmark, who has helped key Florida's revival this season as a reserve, had 15 points in a 77-52 upset by the Gators of then No. 23 Kentucky, two short of her personal best 17 points the previous week in an upset of Alabama. She also played a role off the bench in Sunday's 73-72 upset of then-No. 11 LSU.
Ole Miss, which this week returned to its first AP ranking in 15 seasons at No. 24, upset then-No. 23 Kentucky, 63-54, and also beat formerly ranked Texas A&M last Thursday, 80-63. The Rebels, now 17-2 and 5-1 in the SEC, have also been under a revival guided by fourth-year coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who previous had Jacksonville as a perennial power in the ASUN Conference.
Each week awards go to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's national player, the organization's Tamika Catchings freshman player, and the USBWA's women's national team of the week. The pool of candidates is drawn from the weekly conference citations as well as at-large additions involving an expanded governing panel focusing on women's basketball, headed by vice-president Mel Greenberg.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a women's National Player of the Year. For the 2012-13 season, the national and weekly player award became named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale while this is the first season the national and weekly freshman award is being given in the name of former Tennessee all-American Tamika Catchings.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA.
The winners of the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA's annual awards event on site at the 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four in Minneapolis.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2021-22 USBWA Women's Weekly Honors
Week ending Dec. 5: Teisha Hyman, Syracuse (National); Shayeann Day-Wilson, Duke
(Freshman); Duke (Team)
· Week ending Dec.
12: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (National); Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Georgia
Tech (Team)
· Week ending Dec. 19: Haley Jones,
Stanford (National); Laila Phelia, Michigan (Freshman); Michigan (Team)
·
Week ending Dec. 26: Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
(National); Rori Harmon, Texas (Freshman); South Carolina (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 2: Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (National);
Kelbie Washington, Oklahoma (Freshman); Missouri (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 9: Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado (National);
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska (Freshman); Colorado (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 16: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (National);
Aaliyah Collins, Chicago State (Freshman); Oklahoma and Oregon (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 23: Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (National);
Alberte Rimdal, Florida (Freshman); Ole Miss (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 30: Naz Hillmon, Michigan (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Drexel (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 6: Jasmine Dickey, Delaware (National);
Azzi Fudd, UConn (Freshman); Michigan (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 13: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Villanova (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 20: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); North Carolina (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 27: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Stanford (Team)
·
Week ending March 6: Dre'Una Edwards, Kentucky (National);
Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton (Freshman); Kentucky (Team)
All-time USBWA Women's
National Weekly Honors (Since 2011-12)