The Women's Final Four approaches. On Friday evening, Texas and South Carolina will get the national semifinals going, followed by UConn and UCLA battling it out for the other spot in the national championship game.
With four rounds done, it seems like a good time to look back at the top performances so far in the Women's NCAA Tournament.
Let's rank the 10 most impressive players in March Madness ahead of the Final Four.
10. Liatu King - Notre Dame
It was a disappointing end to the NCAA Tournament for Notre Dame and the future in South Bend looks to be in some danger after Olivia Miles hit the transfer portal, though the Irish were likely planning for their post-Miles life already.
One player who deserves some credit for helping Notre Dame reach the Sweet 16 is Liatu King, one of the unsung heroes of this team. In three games, King was third on the team in scoring and fist in rebounds. She shot an astounding 87.0% from the floor and led Notre Dame in PER and win shares.
9. Serena Sundell - Kansas State
Ayoka Lee played well in her return from her foot injury, but it was Serena Sundell who fueled the Sweet 16 run for the Wildcats as she averaged 19.7 points and so far has led the NCAA Tournament in assists per game with 9.7. Lee was important because of how dominant she was inside at times, but Sundell barely touched the bench at all, averaging over 40 minutes per game because of an overtime contest against Kentucky.
8. Avery Howell - USC
Kiki Iriafen's almost earned a place on this list single-handedly because of how she stepped up in the second round after JuJu Watkins went down, scoring 36 points in a big win, but her second weekend showing just wasn't up to snuff.
Instead, let's talk about Avery Howell, who stepped into a starting role once Watkins went down. The freshman scored 18 points in the second round, then had another 18 in a big Sweet 16 game against Kansas State.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Howell entered the transfer portal after USC's tournament exit.
7. Aneesah Morrow - LSU
LSU fell in the Elite Eight, but it was still a strong year from a Tigers team that lost Angel Reese to the WNBA and Hailey Van Lith to the transfer portal before the season.
Aneesah Morrow stepped up as the team leader and had a very impressive NCAA Tournament, averaging 20.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. She's the only player to reach the second weekend of the tournament this year and average a 20 and 10.
6. Madison Booker - Texas
Texas is in the Final Four, but weirdly, it feels like there hasn't been much of a particularly standout player. Taylor Jones has provided strong defense, especially against Sedona Prince. Kyla Oldacre has given the team big minutes off the bench. Rori Harmon has distributed the ball well.
But the star remains Madison Booker, who is averaging 18.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 50.8% shooting. Texas needs her to keep coming up big if the team wants to capture the national championship.
5. Hailey Van Lith - TCU
TCU made its return to the NCAA Tournament this year and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight, where the team fell to former Big 12 rival Texas.
This was a great tournament for Hailey Van Lith...mostly. There were turnover issues, but Van Lith still averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, including a huge 26-point effort against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. This was a chance for Van Lith to show the world that she's improved her draft stock tremendously at TCU, especially with her playmaking ability.
4. Sarah Strong - UConn
Honestly, you could argue that Sarah Strong belongs as high as No. 2 on this list. She's averaging 16.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in the tournament. Teammate Paige Bueckers gets the headlines, but Strong is the glue that holds everything together for the Huskies.
3. MiLaysia Fulwiley - South Carolina
South Carolina's most impressive player in the NCAA Tournament hasn't started a game and ranks just eighth on the team in minutes over the span of four games. But MiLaysia Fulwiley has made the best of her 15.3 minutes per game, sitting second on the Gamecocks in points per game and assists per game and tying Sania Feagin for the lead in blocks.
Fulwiley has the key to the team's Sweet 16 win against Maryland, as she scored a game-high 23 points while also adding five rebounds, three assists and one block. Her scoring hasn't necessarily been consistent game-to-game, but the sophomore guard has established herself as the future of this South Carolina program.
2. Lauren Betts - UCLA
UCLA is in the Final Four for the first time. A number of players have been important in this journey, but Lauren Betts is the key to the Bruins success.
Betts is averaging 23.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game through four NCAA Tournament appearances. She's also second in blocks per game among the 448 players to appear in March Madness, blocking 3.5 shots per contest.
1. Paige Bueckers - UConn
Could there be any other answer here? Paige Bueckers has averaged 29.0 points per game so far in the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, she's on a heater, leading the tournament in points per game while shooting 58.3% from deep. No one has been better, and there's really not much else to even say here. With Watkins injured, Bueckers is the best player in college basketball and these past two weekends have really proven that. Now, she sets her sights on getting UConn its first title since Breanna Stewart led the program to a four-peat.
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