The potential standouts in the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball tournament include some first- and second-year players.
If there is a theme to this year’s N.C.A.A. women’s basketball tournament, it’s that everything is wide open, leaving room for new stars to emerge and for teams to create new memories. Some of the greatest star power in the game this season came from underclassmen, with strong performances by first-year players and sophomores adding to their résumés, and there promises to be more where that came from. Caitlin Clark, Iowa Clark leads the nation in scoring with 26.7 points per game. Her 195 assists are the most in the country, and her 506 field-goal attempts are third. She is so casually in the top rankings of so many offensive categories that it is easy to forget she is a freshman. A potential meeting with her UConn counterpart, Paige Bueckers, in the round of 16 is the definition of must-see TV. Paige Bueckers, UConn Bueckers, the Big East’s player of the year and freshman of the year, has been one of the top stories this season. She averaged 19.7 points and 4.3 rebounds a game, and played all 45 minutes of an overtime game against South Carolina, hitting the game-winner. Her career high,32 points, came against St. John’s in February. Dana Evans, Louisville The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for the second season in a row, Evans is 5 feet 6 inches but ranked 15th in the nation in points with 520. A senior guard, she scored in double digits in all of her 23 games this season, and 40 games in a row over all, dating to last season.
