The NCAA.com Starting Five honors a starting lineup of players from around the country who recorded standout performances for that week. Here’s the starters for the week of Nov. 20-27.
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Riley Lupfer, Boise State
Preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, Boise State’s Riley Lupfer continues to deliver as the Broncos improved to 5-1 on the season after claiming the 2018 Beach Classic championship over Thanksgiving weekend in Long Beach, Calif.
With the 2-0 record this weekend, Boise State is the 2018 Beach Classic Champion!@rileylupfer2 is named Beach Classic MVP, and Jayde Christopher is named to the All-Tournament Team!#BleedBlue
— Boise State WBB (@BroncoSportsWBB) November 25, 2018
Boise State, down two with 1:54 to play against Northern Iowa, and struggling to string together points all day, put the ball in the hands of Lupfer and she delivered. Out of an inbounds, Lupfer hit a 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, from the top of the key to give the Broncos a lead they would not relinquish as they outscored Northern Iowa, 9-2, over the final 5:32 to overcome a six-point deficit and capture the 2018 Beach Classic title with a 61-60 win. The triple capped a five-point sequence for Lupfer, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
On Nov. 23 in the first game of the Beach Classic, Boise State defeated Idaho, 91-85 as Lupfer had 13 points and four rebounds. Ellie Woerner led the Broncos with a career-high 23 points and hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to help lift Boise State to the win.
Boise State returns to action on Dec. 1, traveling to Pullman to face Washington State.
Beatrice Mompremier, Miami (Fla.)
Miami (Fla.) hosted and swept a pair of games during the Miami Thanksgiving Classic as redshirt junior forward Beatrice Mompremier led the way.
In a 73-61 triumph over Temple on Sunday afternoon, Mompremier led the way for Miami (6-1) with her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 18 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists. One minute and 15 seconds into the third period, Mompremier attempted the first 3-pointer of her collegiate career and made it. She also eclipsed both 650 points and 50 assists in her career in the win over Temple.
“She’s found a way to make Miami win.” -Coach Meier on Beatrice Mompremier pic.twitter.com/SNb9RbR0U2
— Hurricanes Women’s Basketball (@CanesWBB) November 27, 2018
Miami recorded an 82-68 victory over Nebraska in the opening game of the Classic on Nov. 23 as Mompremier posted her fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Mompremier finished 8-of-11 from the field to notch her second straight 20-point home outing.
Miami resumes play on Nov. 29 when it squares off with Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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Jordan Sanders, UC Irvine
Off to the best start in school history, UC Irvine improved to 5-0 as sophomore Jordan Sanders led the Anteaters to the Grand Canyon University Thanksgiving Classic title in Phoenix over the weekend.
Congrats to Jordan on being named the Big West Player of the Week! She averaged 19.7 points & 6.3 rebounds in three wins‼️
— UCI Women's Basketball (@UCIwbb) November 26, 2018
📰 https://t.co/HPhKrZFzcq pic.twitter.com/9ovg9qoCft
Behind double-doubles by Sanders and junior Lauren Saiki, UC Irvine toppled previously undefeated Indiana State, 77-61, to claim the tournament title on Saturday afternoon. Sanders recorded a career-high 25 points, connecting on 11 of 16 field goals to go along with 11 rebounds and four steals. It was her second double-double of the year and fourth in her young career. The Anteaters forced Indiana State into 23 turnovers and now has forced at least that number in all games this season. The 'Eaters improved to 17-3 when Sanders scores 10-plus points and are now 5-0 when she scores 20 or more.
UC Irvine opened the GCU Classic with an 84-71 win over LIU Brooklyn as Sanders led the way with 21 points in 17 minutes played. She went 6-for-8 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free throw line.
Through five games, Sanders leads the Anteaters with an average of 19.8 points per game to go along with 7.6 rebounds.
UC Irvine returns to action on Nov. 29, hosting Bakersfield.
Alanna Smith, Stanford
Stanford improved to 6-0 on the young season after winning the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu, Hawaii, with senior Alanna Smith leading the way.
The Cardinal opened the Showdown with an 88-65 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 23 and won going away despite Smith being saddled with foul trouble that limited her to six points and six rebounds.
Smith bounced back against American with a season-high 25 points as Stanford beat American 71-49 on Saturday. The Cardinal never trailed in the game as Smith went 10 for 18 from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers. The forward also had eight rebounds and four assists one day after being held to a season-low six points against Florida Gulf Coast.
6:48 Q3 | Alanna has 10 second-half points in just over three minutes and 23 of Stanford's 50 overall.
— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) November 26, 2018
🌲: 50
🌈: 28#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/rnnTRJyNDn
She followed up that outing with a season-high 30 points as Stanford crushed Hawaii 81-59 on Sunday. The Cardinal trailed for just 24 seconds early on in the contest and led by as many as 25 points late. Smith connected on 12 of 15 shots from the field that included three 3-point field goals. The 30 points by Smith were three points shy of her career high.
Stanford will return to action on Dec. 2 at Gonzaga.
Sug Sutton, Texas
Texas won the Gulf Coast Showcase over Thanksgiving weekend, with junior point guard Sug Sutton leading the Longhorns to Showcase wins over Quinnipiac (56-55), Michigan (69-52) and Fordham (72-54).
Sutton had a career-high 17 points, with 12 in the first half alone in the Showcase clinching win over Fordham. Fellow All-Tournament Team member Jatarie White scored 16 points and tallied five rebounds. Freshman Charli Collier dished out 11 points and sophomore Destiny Littleton contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
Quiet please.
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) November 27, 2018
Just listen to how impressive our PG @kaorie15 was in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
🏀 14.0 ppg
🏀 7.0 rpg (led the team in rebounding from PG spot)
🏀 6.67 apg
🏀 First career-double double vs. Quinnipiac
🏀 Career-high 17 points vs. Fordham. #OneMore pic.twitter.com/B6lcMi3imH
Against Michigan, Sutton flirted with a triple-double and scored 13 points, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists for the Longhorns, who improved to 5-0 for the fifth time in the last seven years.
In the one-point win over Quinnipiac, Sutton recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists. She also added seven rebounds for the Longhorns.
Texas, 6-0, will next face UTSA on Nov. 28 at home in the Frank Erwin Center.
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