Every week during the 2020-21 season, the NCAA.com Starting Five will feature the best female basketball players in the country. Here are the highlights from last week:
Shakira Austin, Ole Miss
Shakira Austin ended her 20th double-double and fifth career in an Ole Miss uniform, totaling 21 points out of 9 out of 11 shots and 12 rebounds while the rebels defeated Kentucky’s number 14 in the ranking by 70-62 last Thursday .
Against Kentucky, Austin was extraordinary in the first half, scoring 17 points and taking seven bags while the rebels took charge of the game. His 21-point double-double with 12 rebounds marked the first time an Ole Miss player posted a consecutive double-double since Shandricka Sessom in December 2015. His performance against Kentucky was his 13th double-digit scoring game in 14 attempts this season, as well as his sixth game of 20 points in 2020-21.
The Kentucky win was the first home win for Ole Miss since defeating No. 25 Oregon on December 14, 2016 (83-67).
A junior transfer from Maryland, Austin averages 17.1 points (6th SEC), 8.1 rebounds (11th SEC), 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks (6th SEC), while shooting 53.7 percent overall (3rd SEC, 33rd NCAA).
Ole Miss (8-7, 2-7 SEC) will play next time in Alabama on February 11th.
Paige Bueckers, UConn
UConn freshman sensation Paige Bueckers reached the 30-point mark in three wins for the Huskies who soon became the best placed last week.
Bueckers scored 32 points from 13 out of 20 shots in Wednesday’s win against St. John’s, scored 32 points in Friday’s victory at Marquette and added an exclamation point on Monday, scoring 31 points, including 13 finals of his team, to led the runner-up Huskies to a 63-59 victory in overtime on Monday over South Carolina, who is at the top of the ranking Bueckers scored all nine Huskies points in overtime, including a basket 3 points with just over 10 seconds remaining that bounced off the back of the rim loudly and fell to give UConn its four point winning margin.
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Bueckers had 39 of 64 on the field to register a shot of 0.609 for the week, including a 12 of 21 mark (0.571) in three.
In the first 15 games of the season, Bueckers leads the Huskies with 21.1 points per game, 5.6 assists per game and 36 steals. She also leads the country with a 56.9 three point field pitch percentage. Bueckers have averaged 21.4 points against teams qualified this season.
UConn, 14-1 overall and 11-0 in the Big East Conference game, will return to action on February 10 at home against Seton Hall.
Mackenzie DeWees, Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac’s junior guard Mackenzie DeWees averaged 15 points, six rebounds and four steals from last week’s two-game sweep over Monmouth.
In Saturday’s 68-54 victory, DeWees led the offensive attack for the Bobcats, matching his career record in points with 20, while pulling five rebounds and recording five steals. She was also very efficient in kicking the ball, hitting eight of her 10 attempts from the ground.
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On Sunday, DeWees took control of the glass, catching seven rebounds. She also scored 10 points and managed three steals in the 53-38 victory.
DeWees is among the leaders of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in many statistical categories. She has an average of 12.4 points per game, which is the eighth best mark in the conference, she is the sixth in the league in rebounds with 7.6 per game and the fifth in the conference in steals with 2.4 per dispute .
Quinnipiac, 9-5 overall and 7-3 in the MAAC game, will be Fairfield’s next host for a pair of games, February 12-13.
Dana Evans, Louisville
Louisville’s principal point guard, Dana Evans, averaged 26.3 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game in a week of three games for third-placed Cardinals.
Evans led all players with 29 points, leveling his career record in his 74-60 loss to No. 4 NC State on Monday.
The selection of the Wooden Award Late Season Watch List scored 23 points with five assists and four rebounds in the 97-68 victory at Boston College on Thursday. Evans closed the week with 27 points against Notre Dame on Sunday, leading the Cardinals to a 71-65 victory. She scored the final five points against Fighting Irish, highlighting a deep three with 56.7 seconds remaining, to close the door on a 7-0 Irish run in the final.
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Evans ended the week with 79 points from three games, including 12 3-point field shots and went 13 to 14 on the free-throw line. Evans saw his streak of 43 consecutive free throws end on Sunday.
Preseason Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Evans leads the conference in scoring with 20.6 points per game. In addition, Evans added 14 games from 20 points this year, double the total of the next closest player.
Louisville, 18-1 overall and 11-1 at ACC, will play at home against Georgia Tech on February 11th.
Maddi Utti, Fresno State
Fresno State’s Maddi Utti averaged 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game, with the Bulldogs scoring two wins at Mountain West Conference Road over the Utah State.
Mountain West defender of the Year Player of the Year Utti scored 16 points in each contest, pitching the team 60.9 percent (14 of 23). She recorded her second and fourth highest percentage of goals in a single game this year (63.6%, 58.3%).
Utti’s distribution was an asset in the Bulldogs’ ball movement, as they recorded 51 assists in both games. The 5-foot-11 striker had five assists, which was a timid assist in leveling her career record in the first game and then set a new career record in the second game with seven. The seven assists were the most scored by any post player at the conference in a single game this season.
Fresno State defeated Utah State 90-62 on February 4 and 93-85 on February 6. The second game saw Utti help the Bulldogs get off to a quick start, scoring or assisting in 15 of the team’s first 20 points as Fresno Estado scored in his first nine possessions. Fresno State went on to record its third game of 90 consecutive points, becoming the first team in the history of the program to record three consecutive games of 90 points or more.
Next, for the Bulldogs, 11-6 overall and 8-3 in the Mountain West game, there will be two home games against the Air Force on 10-11 February.