Despite having her season cut short because of a knee injury, LSU redshirt senior Ayana Mitchell was named Monday as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association women’s basketball Co-Player of the Year.
She was selected to the All-Louisiana first-team for the Tigers, who finished 20-10 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. Junior Khayla Pointer and redshirt junior Faustine Aifuwa were selected to the All-Louisiana second team. Junior transfer Awa Trasi was named Newcomer of the Year.
Mitchell, a forward from Conyers, Georgia, is the first LSU player to be named Player of the Year by the LSWA since Raigyne Moncreif-Louis in 2017.
When she went down with an injury on Feb. 2, Mitchell was averaging 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals. She had nine double-doubles in 22 games played and became just the fifth LSU player to record 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.
Mitchell shared the co-Player of the Year award with LSU-Shreveport junior guard DeAuja Thompson, who was named the Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was a third-team NAIA All-American after averaging 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Trasi, a transfer from Northwest Florida State College, stepped in for the injured Mitchell, averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in the last nine games. She finished the season averaging 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Pointer, a guard from Marietta, Georgia, led LSU with 14.8 points and 4.8 assists. She led the Tigers in minutes per game (32.7), free throw percentage (71.6) and steals (2.1).
Aifuwa, a center from Dacula, Georgia, averaged 10.9 points, was LSU’s top shot blocker (2.1) and was the team’s best rebounder (7.9) since Mitchell’s injury.
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