Several freshmen around the country are turning in highlight-reel performances as the women’s college basketball season starts to heat up. This includes one first-year player whose bench points sparked a massive win in the ACC as well as another freshman who seems to always create a frenzy on social media.
Let’s see how these performances shaped this weeks women’s college basketball Freshmen Tracker:
Dani Carnegie, Georgia Tech
No. 25 Georgia Tech stormed into Chapel Hill on Sunday and beat No. 14 North Carolina to start off ACC play. Although this 82-76 victory was a team effort, it wouldn’t have been possible without a big night from freshman Dani Carnegie.
Carnegie played 26 minutes off the bench, scoring 22 points on 42% from the floor. The 5-foot-9 guard was also active on the boards, hauling in nine rebounds in addition to handing out four assists.
Carnegie has been solid through 11 games, averaging 14.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists. This type of bench production adds to Georgia Tech’s depth and will be valuable as the season progresses.
Kiyomi McMiller, Rutgers
Kiyomi McMiller has the ball on a string. So whenever she takes the floor for the Scarlet Knights, fans can expect sparks to fly. This week was no different.
After recording the first 30-point game of her college career on Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson, McMiller sent social media into a firestorm on Sunday when she pulled a move out of her bag that had fans stunned.
Despite her creativity on offense, it’s not all glitz and glamor with McMiller. She’s proving to be a complete player as she recorded three double-doubles in Rutgers’ last four games. She’s also shooting the ball at an efficient clip, averaging 45.5% from the floor and 37.5% from 3. As a result, she’s the nation’s second-leading freshman scorer and Rutgers’ unquestioned leader.
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
Like McMiller, Mikayla Blakes has become a productive on-court leader for Vanderbilt. And on Wednesday, she came up big for her team.
Vanderbilt headed to Miami to take on the Hurricanes during the ACC-SEC Challenge. Blakes poured in 26 points to help lift Vanderbilt past the then-undefeated Hurricanes, 88-70. She followed this up by scoring 22 points in Vanderbilt’s blowout win over Evansville.
On the season, Blakes is averaging 20.4 points for the 10-1 Commodores. This makes her the team’s second-leading scorer and the nation’s top-scoring freshman.
