LSU’s Pointer Named to Naismith Trophy Watchlist

BATON ROUGE – LSU’s Khayla Pointer was named as one of the top players in the country Tuesday as one of 30 players on the midseason watchlist for the Naismith National Player of the Year Trophy.

Pointer is also on the watchlist for the Dawn Staley Award and the Nancy Lieberman Award as one of the nation’s top guards. She is coming off a triple-double performance during Monday’s win at Ole Miss – her second triple-double of the season.

In her final season at LSU, Pointer is putting together the best season of her career leading the Tigers. She is on pace to set new career marks in points per game, assists per game and rebounds per game. With three more wins, LSU could also win more games than any other season of her career. Pointer recently became the first player in program history to record 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in her career. She currently ranks No. 3 in career assists and No. 7 in career points.

Teaming up with first-year LSU Head Coach Kim Mulkey, Pointer has led LSU to new heights. With seven games remaining in the regular season, LSU will have the opportunity to earn one of the Top-16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament which would allow the Tigers to host first and second rounds games in the PMAC.

After being a preseason All-SEC selection, Pointer opened her season by becoming the third player in program history to record a triple-double in the season opener against Nicholls. She had a double-double the second game of this season and has five total double-doubles this year.

In LSU’s first game against a ranked team, Pointer had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists against No. 14 Iowa State to help the Tigers win their first ranked game which vaulted LSU into the AP Top-25. LSU has now been in the AP Top-10 for 10 straight weeks.

In the SEC opener, the Marietta, Georgia native Pointer led LSU to a win at Georgia when she hit two threes late in the fourth quarter to secure the victory and finish with 21 points. She hit a layup with 5.7 seconds left in overtime against Missouri to lift the Tigers to victory. After scoring 9 points in the first three quarters against Kentucky, Pointer scored 19 in the fourth quarter to help LSU overcome a five-point deficit and win by nine over the Wildcats.

Pointer is averaging 19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, impacting each game in a variety of ways and leading LSU to its best start since the 2006-07 season. She is No. 2 in the SEC in scoring, No. 2 in assists, No. 10 in field goal percentage, No. 12 in steals and No. 14 in rebounding,

It is rare for Pointer to go to the bench, and she ranks No. 1 in the SEC and No. 2 in the nation averaging 36 minutes per game. She has played all 40 minutes in 7 games, and she also never saw the bench in LSU’s overtime win over Missouri.

2022 Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Watchlist