Freshmen JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo top AP women’s team in America

Caitlin Clark has been a mainstay on the Associated Press All-America team for the past few seasons.

Iowa State’s all-time NCAA scoring leader was honored Wednesday for the third straight yr, becoming the eleventh player to earn the distinction 3 times. She was unanimously chosen by a 35-member national media panel that selects AP’s Top 25 each week.

Joining Clark’s first team were Stanford’s Cameron Brink, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, and freshmen JuJu Watkins from USC and Hannah Hidalgo from Notre Dame. They are only the fourth and fifth freshmen to affix the AP team since its inception in 1994-95, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, Maya Moore and UConn’s Bueckers.

“We had front row seats to JuJu, but what Hannah has done is unbelievable,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “Coach Niele (Ivey) did an amazing job.”

Clark joins the select group for the third time with first-team honors: South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston, Baylor’s Brittney Griner, Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw, Duke’s Alana Beard, Paris, Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon’s Rhyne Howard Kentucky and UConn’s Breanna Stewart and Moore. Paris and Moore did it 4 times.

Clark, who earned second-team honors as a freshman, led the nation in scoring, averaging 31.9 points per game and was tops in assists with an 8.9 average. The Iowa native became the primary Division I player to attain a consecutive 1,000-point season in her profession and also surpass 3,000 points and 1,000 assists.

“It’s amazing when you think about it,” Iowa State coach Lisa Bluder said. “I mean, everyone’s defense plan is to stop her and nobody has been capable of determine how you can do it. She faced every type of defense. She really knows how you can tell them apart.

Watkins took the country by storm as a freshman. She has already scored 810 points, which is the fourth highest result amongst first-year students in history. She averaged 27 points, was second to Clark, and added 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks to assist the Trojans win the Pac-12 Tournament for the primary time since 2014. She is the primary USC player to earn: AP Team honors.

“JuJu entered a program that, while it has a long history, has done nothing significant for many, many years,” Gottlieb said. “It’s very rare for a player of her level to come to a program that isn’t already at the top. She answered every call.”

Hidalgo was incredible on each ends of the ground for the Fighting Irish, helping them win the ACC Tournament title. She averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists, and also led the nation in steals, averaging 4.6 per game.

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“She deserves to be among the best in women’s basketball,” Ivey said. “Hannah is a fierce competitor and an elite competitor who rose to the occasion and has been extremely consistent and dominant this season.”

Bueckers finally had a healthy season after missing a lot of the last two years attributable to injuries. She returned to the shape that earned her AP Player of the Year honors in her freshman yr, averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Huskies.

“He’s one of those special superstars that wants to be on both ends of the floor,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Not everyone values ​​the identical things. He takes loads of joy in the deflections he could make, the shots he can block, the interceptions he could make and the passes he can intercept out of bounds. He just has an excellent sense of the sport and what is going on to occur next. I believe that is probably why she’s never surprised, because I believe she all the time knows what is going on to occur next.

Brink averaged 17.8 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks, which led the nation. She became the second player in the last 24 years to record 100 blocks and 100 assists in the identical season, joining Stewart, who did it 3 times.

“Cam is the best two-way player in the country and a dominant force on both ends of the court,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “In addition to all her points, rebounds and blocks, she is a selfless teammate and willing passer who makes everyone around her better.”

Clark, Brink and Bueckers were on the preseason AP All-America team. They were joined by LSU’s Angel Reese, Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley.

SECOND TEAM
The AP Second Team was led by Kitley, who was the ACC Player of the Year for a 3rd straight season. She was joined by Reese, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, Texas’ Madison Booker and Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon.

THIRD TEAM
The AP third team was Utah’s Alissa Pili, Holmes, Syracuse’s Daisha Fair, Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore and Oregon State’s Reagan Beers.

DISTINCTION
Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee and UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards were the major vote-getters amongst players who didn’t qualify for the three All-American teams. Players earned featured status in the event that they appeared on one in every of the ballots.