Selection Sunday is only four days away, with a number of teams having already punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament. But before the madness gets into full swing, we’re looking back at some of the top players in women’s college basketball this season.
Among players, Sports Illustrated is honoring the best of the best with its 2021–22 All-American teams, which includes a first, second and third team. While these individuals still have the opportunity to continue to impress well into March (and April’s Final Four), we looked at their total body of work so far to determine this year’s honorees.
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/USA TODAY NETWORK; Christopher Hanewinckel, Chris Jones/USA TODAY Sports
First Team
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina
Boston is a walking double-double machine, averaging 16.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. After shedding 25 pounds last summer, she improved her footwork and perfected her touch and awareness in the paint to finish through double- and triple-team defenses. The most fascinating thing about the 6'5" forward is how she constantly impacts the game, leading the country in win shares (14.0) according to HerHoopStats. Boston passed Sylvia Fowles for the SEC’s all-time record for most consecutive double doubles (19) and recorded her 24th straight in the SEC championship game. Her production in points is not as high as others, but she is the undeniable reason South Carolina has been No. 1 all season. —Wilton Jackson
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Clark put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in college basketball history. Among other metrics, she became the only Division I men’s or women’s player to top the 650-point, 200-assist, 175-rebound mark in her first 25 games. And in a torrid January, she averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 assists and 7.7 rebounds. On the season, the sophomore guard scored more than 30 points 11 times and more than 40 points four times. A no-brainer selection. —Ben Pickman
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
A likely top-two pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, Smith lived up to expectations during her senior season. She averaged 22.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, both marks up from her junior year. She showed continuous improvement throughout her tenure at Baylor, becoming one of the country’s most prolific players by season’s end. —BP
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Hillmon accomplished a feat no other Wolverine player—man or woman—has done in school history in notching 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. The 6'2" senior forward is the 14th-highest scorer in the nation, averaging 21.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Her ability to score anywhere within the three-point line—especially in the paint—makes her so tough to stop. Despite an early exit from the conference tourney and a slight decline statistically this season, Hillmon is the catalyst for how far Michigan will go in this year’s Big Dance. And who knows—maybe she’ll explode for another 50-point game, like she did against Ohio State in January 2021. —WJ
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Lee put up the best individual performance of the entire season, making history on Jan. 23 when she scored a Division I women’s basketball record 61 points in a win over Oklahoma. Against the Sooners in that contest, she went 23-for-30 from the field and nearly outscored OU, which finished the contest with 65 points. But Lee’s stellar showing in that game was just one of many for the Wildcats center. According to HerHoopsStats, Lee finished the season No. 3 nationally in win shares. —BP
Second Team
Haley Jones, Stanford
On a balanced team filled with extraordinary talent, Jones’s presence on the court elevates Stanford another notch. “Haley’s name [to] me is T-Jones, as in Tournament Jones,” said Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer after her program claimed its 15th Pac-12 tourney title on Sunday—a game that saw Jones notch 19 points, six rebounds and four assists while going 3 of 4 from three. On the season, she averages 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, earning a triple double in November. Named this year’s Pac-12 Player of the Year, Jones became the first Cardinal to win the honor since Chiney Ogwumike in 2013–14. The junior guard played an integral part in Stanford’s national championship run last season and looks primed to do so again in this year’s NCAA tournament. —WJ
Khayla Pointer, LSU
Pointer’s ability to take over games at any moment with her exceptional playmaking abilities and scoring knack is outstanding. “She’s one of the elite guards in the country. … She can shoot the three, pass the ball, defend, rebound and play multiple positions on the perimeter,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said in January. The fifth-year senior’s role increased when Alexis Morris, the other half of the Tigers’ premier guard tandem, went down with a MCL sprain. Pointer never wanted to be a one-dimensional player and it has shown in her performance as a first team All-SEC selection and all-defensive team honoree. She developed a mid-range jumper coming into the ’21–22 season that has served her well as she averages 19.2 points, 5.2 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. —WJ
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul
DePaul led the nation in points, at 88.3 per contest, and no player was more integral to the Blue Demons’ success than Morrow. As a true freshman, she notched 23 consecutive double doubles, leading the country in rebounds at 13.8 per contest. Coach Doug Bruno’s offensive system relies heavily on floor spacing, giving the 6'1" forward both space to attack and the ability to play free. “You can shoot it from anywhere. You can drive it from anywhere. He doesn’t try to limit your game at all,” Morrow told SI earlier this season. —BP
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Joens was the key to the Cyclones’ having their best start to a season in program history and became their all-time leading scorer this season, surpassing Iowa State legend Angie Welle. Since her freshman year, Joens’s game has evolved beyond a spot-up shooter to becoming one of the craftiest scorers on the floor with her ability to finish underneath bigger defenders. The 6'1" guard averages 20 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and ranks 17th in the nation in win shares (9.2) according to Her Hoop Stats. While she is a senior, Joens has the additional COVID-19 year of eligibility that could bring her back to Ames to continue writing her name in the Cyclones’ history books. —WJ
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Despite Kentucky’s not excelling the way some people expected in the regular season, Howard was still one of the sport’s most effective slashers, averaging 20.6 points on 44.5% shooting this season. She also proved her worth and then some in the SEC tournament, where she led the Wildcats to their first conference championship in 40 years. The Kentucky guard will hear her name called early in the upcoming WNBA draft as a result of all her success. —BP
Third Team
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Kitley was a reliable centerpiece for the Hokies throughout the 2021–22 season. A three-time ACC Player of the Week, Kitley averaged 17.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game on 54.8% shooting from the field. Her 34-point performance against George Washington was her individual season-high mark, and in the victory she made a program-record 17 field goals. As telling as anything, though, was the fact that her November explosion came after one of her worst games of the season against Davidson. —BP
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
The Villanova forward has been vital to the Wildcats’ stellar season. Siegrist’s ability to score inside and shoot the ball well from three-point range—36.7%, the highest mark of her three-year career at Villanova—makes her dangerous for any opposing team. She has 50 career games with 20 or more points and 37 career double doubles. The 6'1" junior ranks eighth in win shares this year and is a big reason why the Wildcats reached the Big East tournament title game for the first time since 2003. —WJ
Elissa Cunane, NC State
Cunane averages 13.8 points while shooting nearly 53% from the floor and adding nearly eight rebounds per game. But her presence goes beyond her points contribution. The Wooden Award candidate ranks 16th in win shares nationally, which is also fourth among centers, and her vision helps facilitate the Wolfpack’s ACC-leading offense. The 2022 ACC tournament MVP, Cunane finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s final and will be the biggest factor in whether NC State makes a deep NCAA run. —WJ
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Brink was yet again central to the Cardinal’s stellar regular season, finishing the year No. 8 in HerHoopsStats’s PER ranking and No. 3 in its player defensive rating. —BP
Veronica Burton, Northwestern
The Wildcats guard is No. 5 in the country in win shares, per HerHoopsStats. For her continued efforts, she was also named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. —BP
