BATON ROUGE – LSU’s Khayla Pointer helped the Tigers return to national prominence and has been named as a WBCA All-America Regional Finalist. The 2022 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team will be announced Thursday, March 31.
The Marietta, Ga. native is one of eight players to be named a regional finalist in Region 2 that features all players from the SEC. There are five total regions.
Pointer had the best season of her career in her final year as a Tiger, paying as one of the top guards across America. Along with being a top-five finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, Pointer earned spots on the Naismith Trophy Watchlist, the Wooden Award National Ballot, the Wade Trophy Watchlist, and the Dawn Staley Award Watchlist. She has already been named to multiple All-America teams (AP and Sports Illustrated Second Team; USBWA Third Team).
After returning for her final year of eligibility and teaming up with National Coach of the Year Finalist Kim Mulkey, Pointer achieved heights her career had never seen before. She set new career-highs with 19.6 points per game (No. 2 in SEC), 6.4 rebounds per game (No. 17 in SEC) and 5.3 assists per game (No. 2 in SEC). With those numbers, Pointer was one of just two players in the SEC to rank inside the Top-20 in points and assists and inside the Top-15 in assists. She led an LSU offensive attack the led the SEC in scoring with 73.72 points per game.
Throughout her final season, Pointer recorded seven double-doubles that included two triple-doubles. She is one of just five players in SEC history to record multiple triple-doubles in a career. Pointer scored in double-figures in 29 games during the season, including 17 games with 20 points or more. She finished the season scoring double-figures in 21 of LSU’s final 22 games that included a stretch of 16 consecutive games with 13 or more points.
Starting all 32 games for the Tigers, Pointer showed great durability. She led the SEC in minutes played, averaging 37.0 minutes per game. She played every second of 13 games for the Tigers, including all 45 minutes of LSU’s overtime victory against Missouri when she sent the PMAC into a frenzy with the game-winning layup with 5.7 second remaining in OT.
Aside from the Missouri game, Pointer came up big late in numerous other games. She hit two threes late in the Dec. 30 game at Georgia to help the Tigers open SEC play with a victory. In LSU’s NCAA Tournament victory in the first-round over Jackson State, Pointer helped the Tigers erase a 10point deficit with 4:54 to play. In the final four minutes, Pointer led LSU’s comeback with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. She hit the game-winning three with 49 seconds remaining to give LSU the lead for good. Pointer finished that game with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and four steals, becoming the first player over the past 20 years to have at least 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steal in the men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament.
Pointer finished her career as one of the best to ever wear a LSU uniform. She is the only player in men’s or women’s history at LSU to finish a career with over 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. Pointer had 1,934 points (No. 6 in LSU history), 599 assists (No. 2 in LSU history) and 573 rebounds (No. 21 in LSU history). Her 672 field-goals made rank No. 8 in LSU history.