For the second straight year, Aari McDonald has been named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.
The point guard led the Pac-12 with 19.3 points per game and was named both first-team All-Pac-12 and a member of the Pac-12’s all-defensive team. McDonald averaged 18.5 points per game in two Pac-12 Tournament games, scoring 24 in the Wildcats’ loss to UCLA.
Last week, she was named a second-team All-American by ESPN.
The AP’s first team was led by UConn freshman Paige Bueckers, who received 28 first-place votes from the national panel of 30 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. She was joined by Dana Evans of Louisville, Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Rhyne Howard of Kentucky and NaLyssa Smith of Baylor.
Bueckers averaged 19.7 points, 6.1 assists and shot nearly 54% from the field and a remarkable 47% from 3-point range. She became the first UConn player to score 30 or more points in three straight games, including a 31-point effort against South Carolina. She also set the school record for assists in a game (14) and the freshman mark.
Evans was a key to Louisville’s regular-season ACC championship. She averaged 20 points and saved her best effort for the fourth quarter when she consistently would take over games to give the Cardinals the victory. She shot 92% from the free throw line
Boston had a solid sophomore season for the Gamecocks, averaging 13.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and blocking 2.8 shots a game. She was a key reason that the Gamecocks won the SEC Tournament.
Out of the five players, only Howard was a first-team All-American last season. Evans and Boston earned second-team honors in 2020.
Alongside McDonald, the second team was headlined by N.C. State’s Elissa Cunane. She was joined by Naz Hillmon, who is the first women’s player at Michigan to earn All-America honors. Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark, who led the nation in scoring and Charli Collier of Texas rounded out the squad.
The third team was Oklahoma State’s Natasha Mack, Maryland’s Ashley Owusu, UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere, Stanford’s Kiana Williams and Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee.
Howard, Evans, Onyenwere, Boston and McDonald made up the preseason All-America team.
McDonald and the third-seeded UA will play their first NCAA Tournament game in 16 years on Monday, when they take on Stony Brook in a first-round game played in San Antonio. The game tips off at 11a.m. and will air on ESPN2.
Includes information from the Associated Press.
