These women's basketball players posted big-time performances and were named to the krikya18.com starting five this week.
Paige Bueckers, UConn
UConn claimed the Baha Mar Women's Championship title last week as redshirt senior Paige Bueckers led the way by averaging 26 points, 3.5 rebounds, five assists and two steals per game. She shot 66.7 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range in the wins.
In a 71-52 win over Oregon State on Nov. 25, Bueckers recorded 23 points, three rebounds and six assists. In a 73-60 win over No. 18 Ole Miss on Nov. 27, she tied her season high with 29 points and added four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Bueckers leads the Big East Conference with 22 points per game and a 62.7 field goal percentage. She has the highest field goal percentage in the nation for players averaging 22 points per game or higher this season. Against ranked opponents this season, Bueckers is averaging 29 points, three rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals per game, shooting 60.5 percent from the floor.
The second-ranked Huskies (6-0) return home to host Holy Cross on Dec. 3, before traveling to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the Women’s Champions Classic, playing Louisville on Dec. 7.
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Kennedy Harris, George Mason
George Mason sophomore Kennedy Harris averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists this weekend as the Patriots split of pair of games with Maryland and Navy. Over the two games Harris shot 51.4 percent from the floor, 60 percent from behind the 3-point line, and 75% from the free throw line.
On Nov. 30 in a hard-fought 66-56 loss at No. 7 Maryland, Harris was the game-high scorer with 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting that included four 3-point field goals.
Against Navy on Dec. 1, Harris once again led the pack with 25 points, including 5-6 from the 3-point line as George Mason prevailed 85-63. She also added six rebounds, and her first block of her season.
Harris currently averages 18.3 points per game, shooting at a .495 clip from the field on the season. She's third in points per game in the Atlantic 10, just 0.2 points off the leader.
George Mason, 7-1, will next play at George Washington on Dec. 3, followed by a Dec. 9 game at Georgetown.
Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State
Florida State junior guard Ta’Niya Latson was named MVP of the Paradise Jam, amassing 75 points while leading the Seminoles to wins over Texas Tech, Missouri State and Gonzaga, extending the Noles' winning streak to seven games.
The Miami native began the tournament with her second career double-double, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 70-62 win over Texas Tech on Nov. 28. After scoring 21 points against Missouri State in a 97-66 win on Nov. 29, Latson added a triple-double against Gonzaga, recording 24 points, 10 rebounds and tying her career high of 10 assists as the Seminoles rolled to a 95-54 win on Nov. 30.
Latson became just one of four Seminoles in program history, and the first since 2019, to record a triple-double and is one of nine DI players to achieve a triple-double this season. She leads the nation in scoring at 26.1 points per game.
Florida State, 8-1, will next face Tennessee in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 4, with the game taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Ajae Petty, Ohio State
Ohio State graduate forward Ajae Petty averaged a double-double in the Buckeyes' two wins at the Daytona Beach Classic last week and was named Daytona Beach Classic MVP for her performances.
Petty led the team by averaging 20.5 points and 10 rebounds per game, also shooting a team-best 76 percent from the floor last week. In the 70-47 win against Old Dominion on Nov. 28, Petty racked up a season-high 24 points and added 11 rebounds (leading the game in both categories in 26 minutes on the court) for her first double-double as a Buckeye and the 21st of her career. She shot 11-of-13 (.846) from the field and added a pair of steals and a block. Petty transferred to Ohio State from Kentucky.
In the 87-51 victory over Utah State, Petty again led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor.
This season, Petty is averaging 11.7 points per game and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.
Ohio State, 7-0, will next open Big Ten play on Dec. 8 at home against Illinois.
Reigan Richardson, Duke
Duke senior guard Reigan Richardson led the Blue Devils to a 3-0 week, including wins over No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Kansas State, averaging 23.3 points, four rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
In the title game of the Ball Dawgs Classic in Henderson, Nevada on Nov. 27, Richardson erupted for a career-high 35 points and seven assists, pulling down three rebounds in leading the Blue Devils to a 109-99 overtime victory over the eighth-ranked Sooners. She set the Duke scoring record for most points in a win over a top-10 team, with the performance earning her tournament MVP honors.
Earlier at the Classic, Richardson filled the stat sheet in Duke's 73-62 triumph over Kansas State on Nov. 25, totaling 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. She capped the weekend with another strong showing against Columbia on Sunday, pacing the Blue Devils in the 77-61 win with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The No. 8 Blue Devils, 8-1 and winners of six straight games, will next travel to Columbia, South Carolina for a date with No. 3 South Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 5 as part of the 2024 SEC/ACC Challenge.
