Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell and Connecticut’s Napheesa Collier tip off the WBCA’s weekly Wade Watch Spotlight for their performances over the past week (Jan.3 through Jan. 10).
Mitchell dominated Big Ten play and led the Buckeyes to wins over Minnesota and Michigan last week. Over the two games, she averaged 29.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. The senior from Cincinnati also logged a .412 3-point percentage during the stretch. Mitchell recorded her season high in points at 37 in an overtime victory over Michigan, 27 of which came in the second half and overtime period. She is now only two points shy of scoring 3,000 career points. Mitchell won her 11th career Big Ten Player of the Week honor and third of the season after her stellar performances. Mitchell and the rest of the Buckeyes will travel to Indiana on Saturday and host Michigan on Tuesday.
Collier has helped the Huskies win their last three games by averaging 17 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks. In 25 minutes of play, she posted 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks in a 100-49 win at South Florida. The junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, made the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the second week this year. Connecticut and Collier have big matchups at Houston on Saturday and Texas on Monday.
The weekly Wade Watch Spotlight recognizes standout performances by players on this season’s Wade Watch list of candidates for the Wade Trophy, the sport’s oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award, which the WBCA presents each year to the best player in college women’s basketball.