Last week presented a number of standout performances. Here are five of the best through games played Monday, January 24.
Octavia Jett-Wilson, Charlotte
Charlotte's Octavia Jett-Wilson averaged 31.5 points per game as the 49ers scored wins over North Texas and Rice.
On Saturday, Jett-Wilson totaled 36 points in a four-overtime thriller against Rice. Jett-Wilson's floater at the end of the first overtime as the horn sounded kept the Niners alive forcing a second overtime before she hit a game-tying three with three seconds left to force another extra frame. The longest game in school history came to a close as Jett-Wilson was clutch again at the line converting the final three attempts with under 30 seconds left creating the five-point, 88-83 victory. The senior's 36 points were her fourth career performance with 30-plus points with 14 of those coming in overtime.
On Thursday, the 49ers trailed by nine at the end of three before Jett-Wilson scored the first seven points of the fourth to trim the deficit down to two. The senior gave the Niners the lead for good just under the two-minute mark which led to the 72-67 win. Jett-Wilson led the way with 27 points on 53% shooting and 9-of-10 stint at the line.
For the week, Jett-Wilson shot 47% from the field (20-of-43), 46% (6-of-13) from behind the arc and 81% (17-of-21) from the line. Jett-Wilson now leads Conference USA in scoring at 25.5 points/game in conference play.
Jett-Wilson and the Niners, 8-6 and 4-0, now head into Old Dominion week facing the Monarchs in their annual home-and-home matchup starting Wednesday, January 26 at ODU before returning home to play the Monarchs on Saturday.
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Kansas State junior Ayoka Lee, is becoming a weekly mainstay in the krikya18.com Starting Five, earning her third weekly mention of the season after setting the NCAA Division I all-time single game scoring record with 61 points in the Wildcats 94-65 win over No. 14 ranked Oklahoma on Sunday.
Lee's 61 points surpassed the NCAA Division I record of 60 previously held by Cindy Brown of Long Beach State in the 1986-87 season and Rachel Banham of Minnesota in the 2015-16 season. The 61 points also surpassed the previous Big 12 record of 50 held by Brittney Griner during the 2012-13 season and broke the school record of 43, which Lee established this season in the opener against Central Arkansas.
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The 2022 All-America candidate tallied her 13th double-double of the season with 12 rebounds, four blocks and a steal in 35 minutes of action. Lee recorded her 61 points on 23-of-30 shooting and a 15-of-17 effort from the free throw line. The product of Byron, Minnesota, got off to a hot start on Sunday, as she set the school records for points in a half (32; first half) and points in a quarter (20; second quarter). Lee is the first player in school history to score 30 or more points in a half.Kansas State opened the week with a 69-61 home win over Kansas on Jan. 19, as Lee led the way with 25 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. Lee's 15 rebounds were a season-high by a Wildcat and marked the sixth time in her career in which she hauled in 15 or more rebounds.
For the week, Lee averaged a stratospheric 43.0 points with a .660 field goal percentage and an .870 free throw percentage. She also averaged 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 0.5 steals. Lee's 43.0 points per game average is the highest for a single week in Big 12 history.
For the season, Lee leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring (25.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.597) and blocks (3.5 bpg). She is second in the league in rebounding (10.9 rpg) and is ninth in free throw percentage (.759) and 14th in steals (1.4 spg). Her 485 points this season are a new career-high and her 200 made field goals are also a new career-high.
Kansas State, 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12, returns to action Jan. 26 at Texas.
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Charisma Osborne averaged 19.0 points per game as UCLA scored a pair of wins over cross-town rival USC this past week.
The junior guard led all scorers with a season-high 27 points at USC on Sunday, Jan. 23, adding six rebounds and three assists in the 68-58 victory. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native scored 11 points in the first quarter and 18 in the first half. It was her third game with at least 25 points on the year, also picking up a pair of steals on the defensive end.
Osborne filled the box score on Jan. 20 with an 11-point, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals performance in the team's 66-43 win over USC at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA, 9-4 overall and 4-1 in Pac-12 Conference play, is back in action on Jan. 26 at home against Arizona.
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Elena Tsineke, South Florida
South Florida sophomore guard Elena Tsineke averaged 27.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last week while helping the Bulls to a 2-0 record. The Bulls logged a pair of wins over Tulsa (66-63) on Jan. 19 and Temple (75-57) in overtime on Jan. 22.
Tsineke poured in a season-high 30 points — one shy of her career-high — against the Golden Hurricane on 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) shooting from the field, 3-for-6 (50 percent) from behind the three-point arc and a near-perfect 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line. She followed that up with a 25-point performance against the Owls on 7-for-14 (50 percent) from the field, 1-for-2 (50 percent) from long range, and 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the line. Tsineke scored 10 of the Bulls' 16 points in the extra session against Temple and went 8-for-8 from the field, including 6-for-6 in the final 36 seconds.
A sophomore guard from Thessaloniki, Greece, Tsineke over the two games shot 44.7 percent (17-38) from the field, 50 percent (4-for-8) from three-point range, and 85 percent (17-20) from the free-throw line.
On the year, Tsineke leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game, which is also good enough for fourth in the American Athletic Conference. Her 39.9 percent shooting from the floor is fifth in the conference.
The Bulls, 14-5 overall and 4-1 in the AAC, return to action with a crucial two-game road trip this week, Jan. 26 at SMU and Jan. 30 at Houston.
Del'Janae Williams, Indiana State
Indiana State junior guard Del'Janae Williams put together back-to-back 20-point games as the Sycamores scored a pair of wins over Evansville and Valparaiso.
Williams put together one of the most complete games an Indiana State player has had this season against Evansville, scoring 21 points, adding five rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks as Indiana State prevailed 69-51 over the Purple Aces.
She had 24 points in an 85-65 win on Jan. 21 at Valparaiso, including 13 in the fourth quarter against the Beacons to put that game out of reach. Williams also had four assists, two steals and two rebounds.
The 20-point outings were the third and fourth 20-point games this season for Williams and marked the second time this year she recorded back-to-back 20-point games.
Indiana State, 9-7 overall and 4-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, returns to play Jan. 29 at home versus Missouri State.
