Angel Reese had already made a strong national player of the year case before LSU's bout with Texas A&M on Friday. After putting up 26 points and grabbing a program-record 28 rebounds, she might have made herself the favorite to take home the honors.
Reese's 28 rebounds in the Tigers' 74-38 win over the Aggies were the most by any SEC player since 1979-1980. She also is the only SEC player in the last 20 years to record a 25-point, 25-rebound performance. Reese is now averaging 24.1 points and 15.8 rebounds per game while leading LSU to a 15-0 record. The Tigers haven't been undefeated 15 games into the season since Minnesota Lynx legend Seimone Augustus starred for LSU in the 2002-03 season.
“There's a lot of great players who came before me,” Reese said after the win. “On [Jan. 15] Seimone Augustus' statue is going up [at LSU]. I want to be like that. I want to set records. I want a statue one day. Being able to look up to someone like Seimone or Sylvia Fowles, I want to be in the same columns as players like them. I'm very blessed to be in the situation that I'm in.”
Reese is the only Division-I player this season to record multiple 20-20 performances. Only four other SEC players have had multiple 20-20 performances in a single season. That list includes WNBA center Teaira McCowan, who did it five times in the 2017-18 season for Mississippi State, while Unique Thompson (Auburn, 2020-21) and Sylvia Fowles (LSU, 2006-07) did it twice for their respective teams.
Reese, who attended Maryland last season, has recorded double-doubles in all of the Tigers' games this season. She will look to extend that streak when LSU plays Kentucky on Jan. 8.