These women's basketball players posted big-time performances and were named to the krikya18.com Starting Five this week.
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo put on a show at No. 3 Southern California on Saturday with 24 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals as the Fighting Irish rolled to a convincing 74-61 win.
Hidalgo has now scored 20-plus points in 30 of her 40 collegiate games and now has 10 career games with at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, which is more than any other Division I player in the last 25 years.
Saturday’s performance added to an already lengthy resume for Hidalgo against ranked teams. Over her career against AP Top 25 opponents, the sophomore has averaged 21.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.3 steals per game.
On the season, Hidalgo leads the nation with 5.2 steals per game and ranks third with 24.8 points per game. She is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and has made 43 field goals (24th in the country) and 28 free throws (35th in the country).
Notre Dame, 5-0, will be back in action this week at the Cayman Islands Classic, playing No. 17 TCU (6-0) on Friday and Utah (5-1) on Saturday.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: UCLA named TOTW after ending South Carolina's 43-game win streak | AP poll
Maya McDermott, Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa guard Maya McDermott scored a career-high 37 points on a career-high 14 field goals including three 3-pointers as Northern Iowa scored an 87-75 upset of No. 8 Iowa State on Nov. 20, the first victory over a top-10 opponent in Panthers program history.
McDermott also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals on the afternoon. The 37 points were McDermott's first 30-plus point game since the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal against Drake last season, and the third 30-plus point game of her career. McDermott became the first player in school history to record at least 30 points against a top-10 opponent.
McDermott and the Panthers, 3-1, are back in action on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 28, as they take on Auburn in the Virgin Islands as a part of the Paradise Jam Tournament.
Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts junior guard Jalei Oglesby came off the bench with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds, leading the Golden Eagles to their first win over Arkansas since 2018, defeating the Razorbacks 94-73 in Fayetteville on Nov. 21.
Oglesby connected on 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-for-5 shooting from the charity stripe. Oglesby dominated the floor in the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Golden Eagles' 16 points in just eight minutes. Oglesby shot 5-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from the free throw line and tallied three boards in the quarter.
Oglesby followed with 16 points on Monday as Oral Roberts earned its fifth win of the season, topping Lindenwood, 99-79.
Oral Roberts, 5-1, is off until Dec. 4 when it goes on the road to face Northern Arizona in the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge.
Khamil Pierre, Vanderbilt
Khamil Pierre averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 steals in a pair of home wins last week for Vanderbilt, which improved to 6-0 on the season.
The 6-2 forward opened the week by posting a double-double in a 94-45 win over Hampton on Nov. 20. Pierre scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds against the Lady Pirates while adding three steals to her stat line. She followed that performance by collecting a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Commodores post a 104-59 victory over Samford on Nov. 22. Pierre went 10-of-16 from the field against the Bulldogs and collected four steals.
Pierre pushed her season double-double total to an NCAA-best five and has now scored double-digit points in nine straight games dating back to last season. The sophomore is one of four Division I players who have posted a double-double in all but one game their team has played this season, while she is one of seven players in the nation averaging at least 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Vanderbilt returns to action on Nov. 26 at the 2024 Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs. California against Arizona. The Commodores will then challenge either California or Michigan State in game two of the Classic on Nov. 27.
Laura Ziegler, Saint Joseph’s
Saint Joseph's forward Laura Ziegler averaged a double-double on the week with 26 points and 11 rebounds per game in road matchups against Southern Utah and Utah. The junior also added five assists and three blocks, shooting 21 of 37 (.568) from the field, 6 of 15 (.400) on 3-pointers and a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
Ziegler scored a career-high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds to help the Hawks dominate Southern Utah, 82-53, on Nov. 20. In doing so, Ziegler bested her previous career-high of 27 points and became the first Hawk this season to score 30-plus points in a game. She followed that performance with a 22-point, 12-rebound effort in a 72-71 overtime loss at Utah, with 11 of her 22 points coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a 3-point field goal that tied the score and sent the game to overtime.
Ziegler registered her 24th and 25th career double-double, now five shy of tying Maureen Costello and Susan (Moran) Lavin for fourth in Saint Joseph’s history. Ziegler ranks third in the country with four double-doubles in five games to start the season, sitting seventh in the nation with 8.2 rebounds per game.
The Hawks, 4-1, return home Nov. 27 to play Saint Francis.
