INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) For the season's thirteenth honorees for games ending Sunday, Feb. 27, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week goes to Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, the organization's Tamika Catchings women's freshman player honor goes to DePaul forward Aneesah Morrow for a record fifth time, and the USBWA women's team citation goes to Stanford.
Clark, a 6-0 sophomore guard from West Des Moines, Iowa, and 2020-21 USBWA co-national freshman honoree, averaged 33.0 points, 9.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game with a 54.5 field-goal percentage, 52.0 three-point percentage and a double-double as Iowa posted three wins in as many tries two vs. top-10 opponents · last week to clinch a share of the Hawkeyes' first Big Ten title since 2008.
She collected her 14th double-double of the season in Sunday's 104-80 win over No. 6/5 Michigan, finishing with 38 points (11-18 FG, 8-11 3FG), 11 assists and six rebounds and narrowly missed triple-doubles in her other two games against No. 10/6 Indiana (29 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in an 88-82 win) and at Rutgers (32 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in an 87-78 win). A previous USBWA weekly recipient last month along with several citations a season ago, Clark also earned her 12th career Big Ten Player of the Week honor (tied for fifth-most in conference history) and seventh this season (third in Big Ten history).
Morrow a 6-1 forward from Chicago, Ill., keeps setting freshman and overall records on and off the court with her fifth USBWA and 13th Big East freshman of the week honor after averaging 28.5 points, 16.5 rebounds and 55.3 percent shooting in a 1-1 week for the Blue Demons. She set a conference freshman-record 41 points in Sunday's win at Creighton while also adding 18 rebounds against the Bluejays for her NCAA-leading 26th double-double of the year.
The points were within two of the Big East single-game record for all players held by Creighton's Jaylyn Agnew and Louisville's Angel McCoughtry. Morrow closed out her rookie regular season with a bevy of Big East records in scoring (rookie single game, rookie season average and rookie season point total) and rebounding (single game both rookie and overall, rookie and overall season total, rookie and overall average).
Defending NCAA women's champion Stanford closed out the regular season with a narrow 63-56 win over Washington to be the only Power 5 team with a perfect record in conference competition (16-0) while their Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer goes into the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas with every triumph moving forward, extending her NCAA Division I women's record career total currently at 1,150. With two weeks left in the season voting in the Associated Press women's poll Stanford (25-3) has held on to No. 2, behind South Carolina for 11 straight weeks.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected a women's All-America team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2021-22 USBWA Women's Weekly Honors
Week ending Dec. 5: Teisha Hyman, Syracuse (National); Shayeann Day-Wilson, Duke
(Freshman); Duke (Team)
· Week ending Dec.
12: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (National); Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Georgia
Tech (Team)
· Week ending Dec. 19: Haley Jones,
Stanford (National); Laila Phelia, Michigan (Freshman); Michigan (Team)
·
Week ending Dec. 26: Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
(National); Rori Harmon, Texas (Freshman); South Carolina (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 2: Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (National);
Kelbie Washington, Oklahoma (Freshman); Missouri (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 9: Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado (National);
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska (Freshman); Colorado (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 16: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (National);
Aaliyah Collins, Chicago State (Freshman); Oklahoma and Oregon (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 23: Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (National);
Alberte Rimdal, Florida (Freshman); Ole Miss (Team)
·
Week ending Jan. 30: Naz Hillmon, Michigan (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Drexel (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 6: Jasmine Dickey, Delaware (National);
Azzi Fudd, UConn (Freshman); Michigan (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 13: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Villanova (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 20: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); North Carolina (Team)
·
Week ending Feb. 27: Caitlin Clark, Iowa (National);
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul (Freshman); Stanford (Team)
·
Week ending March 6: Dre'Una Edwards, Kentucky (National);
Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton (Freshman); Kentucky (Team)
All-time USBWA Women's
National Weekly Honors (Since 2011-12)