These women’s basketball players posted big-time performances and were named to the NCAA.com starting five this week.
⛹️♀️ MORE WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL ⛹️♀️
Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse
Syracuse went 2-0 on the week and played its way back into the Associated Press Top 25 poll, as guard Dyaisha Fair averaged 26.5 points per game in the two wins.
Fair filled the stat sheet with 31 points and a program-record nine three-pointers in a 79-73 home win over No. 23 Florida State on Jan. 18. In that game, Fair helped to rally Syracuse from an 18-point deficit to beat the Seminoles for the team’s second ranked win of the year. With the 31 points, Fair also reached 1,000 total points with the Orange, meaning that she became the fastest player in program history (by 10 games) to reach that benchmark since Tiana Mangakahia.
She followed that by scoring 22 points and connecting on six three-pointers in a 72-59 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday, helping to guide the Orange to their fifth-straight win and move the team to a tie with North Carolina for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In Syracuse’s last five games, Fair has scored at least 22 points.
Syracuse, at 16-2 overall, is off to its best start in program history since the 2012-2013 season. The Orange also sit at 6-1 against the ACC, a first for the team since it joined the conference. Next up is an important ACC matchup at Notre Dame on Jan. 25.
Kiki Iriafen, Stanford
Stanford junior forward Kiki Iriafen averaged 28.5 points and 13.5 rebounds as the Cardinal rolled to home wins over Oregon and Oregon State.
Highlight for Iriafen was a career-high 36 points against Oregon State on Sunday as head coach Tara VanDerveer passed former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career victory as Stanford beat Oregon State 65-56. Iriafen connected on 16 of 26 shots from the field and added 12 rebounds against the Beavers, becoming the first Cardinal since Chiney Ogwumike in 2014 with at least 35 points and 10 boards in a game.
She started the week on Jan. 19 with a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double as the Cardinal rolled to an 88-63 home win over Oregon.
Stanford, 17-2 overall and 6-1 in Pac-12 Conference play, returns to action on Jan. 26 at Arizona State.
Emani Jefferson, FGCU
FGCU remained undefeated in Atlantic Sun Conference play and stretched its winning streak to eight straight as junior guard Emani Jefferson averaged 21.5 points per game in a pair of wins.
Jefferson exploded for a career-high 24 points in Thursday’s 82-57 win over Queens. The redshirt junior scored nearly half of FGCU’s 40 first half points as she contributed a game-high 18 heading into the locker room. For the game, Jefferson went 7-of-13 from the field, 10-of-13 from the line, grabbed seven rebounds and added two blocks. Her previous career-high was 22 points, set in 2022 as a member of Wright State against Tulsa.
Jefferson connected on all of her shots from the floor and poured in 19 points in FGCU’s 93-65 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday to keep the Eagles (15-4, 5-0 ASUN) perfect in conference play.
FGCU’s has currently the fourth-longest active home win streak at 23 consecutive games. The Eagles have won 27 straight conference games against current ASUN member institutions, the longest currently active conference win streak in Division I women’s college basketball.
Jefferson is averaging a team-leading 15.3 points per game and is just 20 points away from eclipsing 1,000 career points. The transfer has scored 10-or-more points in eight games this season.
The Eagles next travel to Lipscomb on Jan. 25 and Austin Peay State on Jan. 27.
Lucy Olsen, Villanova
Facing two top-25 teams last week, Villanova junior guard Lucy Olsen averaged 33.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals as the Wildcats split a pair of games.
In Wednesday’s 66-63 home upset win over No. 22 Marquette, Olsen reached the 30-point mark for a Big East Conference best for the sixth time this season, scoring a game-high 37 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
In Sunday’s 63-49 setback to No. 21 Creighton, Olsen had a game-high 29 points while adding seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Over the two games she shot 50 percent from the field, including a .632 clip in the win over Marquette. Olsen ranks fourth nationally with a 23.9 scoring average this season.
Villanova, 12-6 overall and 5-2 in Big East play, will return to action Jan. 24 at Providence.
Savannah Wheeler, Middle Tennessee
The preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, Middle Tennessee guard Savannah Wheeler achieved a pair of career milestones in wins over UTEP and New Mexico State.
She became just the 10th player in conference history to eclipse 2,000 career points during the Lady Raiders’ 81-70 win over the Miners, and the Conference USA all-time leader in career-made free throws (579) in Middle Tennessee’s 85-48 rout of the Aggies. The graduate scored a league-high 48 points on the week and went 20-of-23 (86.9 percent) from the free throw line.
She tallied a team-high 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists against UTEP, where she went 5-of-9 from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. After the Miners cut the Lady Raiders’ lead to single figures, Wheeler tallied nine points in less than five minutes and made four free throws to close out the game.
Wheeler followed that performance up with 30 points, five assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals in the rout of New Mexico State, where she went 8-of-12 from the field and 13-of-14 from the charity stripe in just 30 minutes of action. This marked her second 30-point performance of the season.
Wheeler is averaging 16.2 points a game for the Lady Raiders and currently leads the league in assists, dishing out 4.3 per game.
Middle Tennessee, 14-4 overall and 4-0 in Conference USA play, hits the road this week for a pair of conference games at Jacksonville State on Jan. 24 and FIU, Jan. 27.