List of NCAA Division I women's basketball season assists leaders

Last updated

In basketball, an assist is a pass to a teammate that directly leads to a score by field goal. [1] The National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I (D-I) assist title is awarded to the player with the highest assists per game average in a given season. While the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports in the 1981–82 season, well after the NCAA established its current three-division alignment for competitive and governance purposes, [2] it did not officially record assists until the 1984–85 season. [3]

Contents

Suzie McConnell of Penn State holds the all-time D-I record for single-season assists per game (11.8), which she accomplished in 1986–87. [4] She also recorded 355 assists that season, which is the second-highest single-season mark behind Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot, who recorded 367 in 2010–11 while playing 6 more games than McConnell did in 1986–87. [4] The first woman to lead D-I in scoring and assists in the same season was Caitlin Clark for Iowa in 2021–22. [5]

Nine players have earned multiple assist titles. La’Terrica Dobin of Northwestern State is the only one to have earned three titles, doing so from 2002–2004. Seven others have earned the honor in consecutive seasons: McConnell (1986, 1987), Neacole Hall of Alabama State (1988, 1989), Andrea Nagy of FIU (1994, 1995), Dalma Iványi of FIU (1998, 1999), Vandersloot (2010, 2011), Niya Johnson of Baylor (2015, 2016), and Caitlin Clark of Iowa (2022, 2023, 2024). The other player with two assists titles is Tiana Mangakahia of Syracuse, who won titles in 2017 and 2021, the latter after returning from breast cancer treatment. [6]

Only two freshmen (Tine Freil and Michelle Burden) and five sophomores (McConnell, Dobin, Claire Faucher, Mangakahia, and Clark) have led Division I in average assists. Four players born outside the United States have led Division I in assists — Freil, born in Denmark; Nagy and Iványi, both born in Hungary; and Mangakahia, born in Australia.

Key

Assists leaders

Caitlin Clark is the only woman to lead D-I in both points and assists, doing so in 2021-22 and 2023-24. Caitlin Clark (cropped).jpg
Caitlin Clark is the only woman to lead D-I in both points and assists, doing so in 2021–22 and 2023–24.

Schools are indicated with their current athletic brand names, which do not always match those used by a team in the relevant season.

SeasonPlayerPos.Cl.TeamGames
played		 Assists APGRef. [lower-alpha 1]
1984–85 Faith MimnaughGSr Loyola Chicago 2731611.7
1985–86 Suzie McConnell GSo Penn State 3233810.56
1986–87 Suzie McConnell (2)GJr Penn State 3035511.83
1987–88 Neacole HallGJr Alabama State 2831811.36
1988–89 Neacole Hall (2)GSr Alabama State 2931911
1989–90 Tine FreilGFr Pacific 2932111.07
1990–91 Michelle BurdenGFr Kent State 2929410.14
1991–92 Mimi HarrisGSr La Salle 3132010.32
1992–93 Gaynor O'DonnellGSr East Carolina 2830010.71
1993–94 Andrea Nagy GJr FIU 2929810.28
1994–95 Andrea Nagy (2)GSr FIU 323159.84
1995–96 Brenda PantojaGSr Arizona 302789.27
1996–97 Tamika MatlockGSr Michigan State 302297.63
1997–98 Dalma Iványi GJr FIU 312949.48
1998–99 Dalma Iványi (2)GSr FIU 302658.83
1999–00 Helen Darling GSr Penn State 352747.83
2000–01 Tasha Pointer GSr Rutgers 312578.29
2001–02 La’Terrica DobinGSo Northwestern State 292508.62
2002–03 La’Terrica Dobin (2)GJr Northwestern State 2829610.57
2003–04 La’Terrica Dobin (3)GSr Northwestern State 262499.58
2004–05 Yolanda PaigeGSr West Virginia 342978.74
2005–06 Lyndsey MeddersGJr Iowa State 282157.68
2006–07 Amanda RegoGJr San Diego 302307.67
2007–08 Claire FaucherGSo Portland State 312748.84
2008–09 Whitney Boddie GSr Auburn 332627.94
2009–10 Courtney Vandersloot GJr Gonzaga 343219.44
2010–11 Courtney Vandersloot (2)GSr Gonzaga 3636710.19
2011–12 Angel Goodrich GJr Kansas 342507.35
2012–13 Kacie CassellGJr Akron 332597.85
2013–14 Jamierra Faulkner GSr Southern Miss 342918.56
2014–15 Niya JohnsonGJr Baylor 363228.94
2015–16 Niya Johnson (2)GSr Baylor 373218.68
2016–17 Cutyce KnoxGSr Texas A&M 373218.68
2017–18 Tiana Mangakahia GSo Syracuse 313049.81
2018–19 Amy O'NeillGSr St. Francis Brooklyn 343048.94
2019–20 Sabrina Ionescu GSr Oregon 332999.06
2020–21 [lower-alpha 2] Tiana Mangakahia (2)GSr Syracuse 201457.25
2021–22 Caitlin Clark GSo Iowa 32257 [7]
2022–23 Caitlin Clark (2)GJr Iowa 38327 [8]
2023–24 Caitlin Clark (3)GSr Iowa 39346 [9]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Except as noted, reference is to the list of single-season leaders on page 25 of the primary reference, the NCAA's 2021–22 Division Women's Basketball Records book.
  2. ↑ Due to COVID-19 disruptions, the NCAA ruled that players would be eligible for season leaderboards if they played in at least 13 games that season, the same number required for a team to be considered for that season's NCAA rournament. [3]

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References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  2. ↑ "History of the NCAA". NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  3. 1 2 2021–22 Division I Women's Basketball Records, p. 2
  4. 1 2 2021–22 Division I Women's Basketball Records, p. 3
  5. ↑ "#22 – Caitlin Clark". 2022–23 Women's Basketball Roster. Iowa Hawkeyes. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  6. ↑ Voepel, M.A. (October 2, 2020). "Tiana Mangakahia gets waiver to return to Syracuse this season". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  7. ↑ "2021-22 Women's College Basketball Leaders". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ "2022-23 Women's College Basketball Leaders". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "2023-24 Women's College Basketball Leaders". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
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