These women’s basketball players posted big-time performances and were named to the NCAA.com starting five this week.
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Tiarra East, Temple
Temple senior guard Tiarra East was named MVP of the inaugural Toyota Women’s Big Five Classic in Philadelphia following her dominant 26-point performance in a 76-62 win at Villanova.
Against Villanova on Dec. 7, East went 10-18 from the field while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out two assists. East led the way as Temple surged in the second half for the 14-point win, outscoring Villanova 46-28 over the final two periods.
Through eight games this season, East leads Temple with an average of 16.6 points per game while also pulling down 4.8 rebounds per outing.
The Owls, 5-3 and winners of two straight games, will next face West Virginia at home on Dec. 15.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Michigan State earns the honor after best start in program history
Molly Kaiser, New Mexico State
New Mexico State graduate student Molly Kaiser totaled 55 points in two wins over rival opponent New Mexico in the battle of I-25, helping the Aggies sweep the Lobos for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Kaiser had 25 points in the 81-71 win at New Mexico on Dec. 6, and followed with 30 points two days later as New Mexico State prevailed 68-60 at home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. On Sunday, Kaiser finished perfect from the free throw line (9-for-9) and knocked down 10 field goal attempts to ultimately help the Aggies extend the game out of New Mexico’s reach.
Over the two games, Kaiser was 18 for 20 at the free throw line, tallied 11 rebounds, three steals and eight assists.
Winners of three of the last four games, New Mexico State (6-3) will next travel to Tarleton State on Dec. 16.
Lauren Ross, Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne guard Lauren Ross had back-to-back 25-point games to lead the Mastodons to a 2-0 start to Horizon League play.
Ross totaled 25 points in the Mastodons’ first-ever win over Green Bay, 67-66 at home on Dec. 7, including all 14 of Purdue Fort Wayne’s points in the fourth quarter. She added nine rebounds to go with her 25 points in the Mastodons’ 68-56 victory over Robert Morris on Dec. 4. For the week, the Muskegon, Michigan native shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the floor and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from 3-point range, including 6-for-6 from deep against Green Bay.
Ross leads the Horizon League in scoring at 25.0 points per game in conference play, while her seven rebounds per game ranks fifth. She is second in field goal percentage (65.2 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (68.8 percent). Nationally, no player in Division I has made more 3-pointers than Ross this season, who has 37 in 10 games. Ross is also one of three Division I players currently shooting at least 51.3 percent from the floor, 51.4 percent from 3-point range and 91.7 percent from the free throw line.
Purdue Fort Wayne, 5-5 overall, will look to improve to 3-0 in Horizon League play when they travel to IU Indy on Dec. 11.
JuJu Watkins, Southern California
Southern California sophomore guard JuJu Watkins averaged 30.5 points, four rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks across two wins last week, as the Trojans beat California Baptist 94-52 at home in the Galen Center before opening Big Ten Conference play with their first true road game in a 66-53 victory at Oregon.
Against California Baptist on Dec. 3, Watkins scored 40 points and broke Southern California’s program record for 3-pointers made in a game with nine. Her 9-of-11 mark from beyond the arc set a new career best for Watkins, who also committed no turnovers in the win. Her 40-point effort was the second most scored by any Division I player this season, and made her just the third Big Ten player in the last 25 years to score 40 points and make nine 3-pointers in a single game. It was Watkins’ 16th career game scoring 30 or more points.
At Oregon on Dec. 7, Watkins battled foul trouble and still emerged with a game-high 21 points in just under 28 minutes played. That marked the 35th time in her 43 career games played that Watkins has scored 20-or-more points.
Southern California, 8-1, will return home this week, hosting Fresno State on Dec. 10, before taking on Elon on Dec. 15.
POWER RANKINGS: Notre Dame and Oklahoma rejoin the top 10 in Week 5
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
LSU improved to 11-0 on the season as sophomore guard Mikaylah Williams posted two big performances in leading the Tigers to victories over Stanford in overtime during the SEC/ACC Challenge and over Grambling.
In the 94-88 overtime win over Stanford on Dec. 5, Williams finished with 32 points and nine rebounds and sank a turnaround jumper with four seconds left to force overtime. Of her 32 total points, nine came in the fourth quarter and six came in overtime to help LSU remain unbeaten.
During Sunday’s game in Bossier City, Louisiana, her homecoming game, Parkway High School honored her before the game and announced it will retire her No. 12 high school jersey. She then went out and scored 16 points on 5-10 shooting with six rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals, stuffing the stat sheet in the 100-54 victory.
In LSU’s first game in the Bahamas against Washington on Nov. 25, Williams was held scoreless on 0-9 shooting for the first time of her college career. In four games since that game, Williams has averaged 20.5 points while shooting 56-percent from the field and 52-percent from beyond the 3-point line.
The Tigers, ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll, will return to action on Dec. 15, hosting Louisiana for their final home game before the holiday break.
