NCAAW: Bueckers, Iriafen highlight top Tournament performances thus far

We’re two rounds into the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and we’ve already seen plenty of big-time performances by some of the best talent in Division I.

March is, after all, the time of year when these stars shine their brightest, and with still a few days until the Sweet Sixteen begins, let’s recap a few of the biggest individual games from the Round of 32.

Aziaha James (NC State Wolfpack)

NC State’s magical Final Four run was a highlight of last year’s tournament, and it also put James on the map for many people. The lefty guard was already in the midst of a breakout season as a junior, and her performances in Wolfpack wins over Stanford and Texas caught plenty of eyes as she hit big shot after big shot.

James has been rolling ever since, leading NC State in scoring (18.1 points per game) and playing a key role in the Wolfpack earning a No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. NC State was firing on all cylinders in a recent 83-49 victory over Michigan State, and James led the way with a game-high 26 points, including six made 3-pointers. There’s a flair to James’ game that makes it tailor-made for March, and she’s once again delivering when the Wolfpack need her the most.

Paige Bueckers (UConn Huskies)

As both the leading scorer and leading distributor on one of the country’s best teams, Bueckers is usually toeing the line between being aggressive with the ball and deferring to her teammates. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma frequently quips that his star guard doesn’t look for her own shot often enough—a nitpicky criticism, sure, but a valid one when considering just how good Bueckers is when a game is on the line and she decides to take over.

Bueckers had that look in her eye early in UConn’s second-round victory over South Dakota State. The Huskies had gotten off to a slow start, facing a 10-4 deficit at the first media timeout, when the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft went to work, scoring 10 points in a row to end the first quarter and giving her team a lead it never relinquished. Bueckers finished the night with 34 points on 14-for-21 shooting from the field as UConn cruised to a 91-57 win.

Temira Poindexter (Kansas State Wildcats)

There weren’t many games more exciting in the second round of the tournament than Sunday’s overtime thriller between Kansas State and Kentucky, and while the usual suspects, such as Ayoka Lee, Serena Sundell, Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack all showed out, it was Poindexter who made arguably the biggest impact during crunch time.

Formerly a high-volume scorer at Tulsa, Poindexter slid into more of a tertiary role when she transferred to Kansas State for this season, and while she’s flown a bit under the radar as a result, her contributions to the Wildcats have been invaluable. On Sunday, she hit eight 3-pointers, including the game-deciding shot that put Kansas State ahead 80-79. Poindexter also recorded six blocked shots; at 6-foot-2, she can be a disruptive defensive player on the perimeter, and that size came in handy against Kentucky’s backcourt. Poindexter may not get much shine playing alongside an all-time program great in Lee or a future WNBA draftee in Sundell, but the Wildcats wouldn’t be advancing to the Sweet 16 without her.

Kiki Iriafen (USC Trojans)

Sometimes, the gravity of a particular situation can make strong individual performances stand out even more. USC star JuJu Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Trojans’ second-round game against Mississippi State, sending shockwaves through the basketball world and putting a damper on the tournament as a whole.

Nonetheless, the No. 1-seed Trojans rallied, routing Mississippi State 96-59. Iriafen, in particular, had her best game since she first donned a USC jersey, scoring 36 points on 16-for-22 shooting and flashing every bit of the size and athleticism advantages she had over the Bulldogs’ frontcourt. It’s understandable if the Trojans’ title hopes are now in doubt, but they’ve displayed exceptional mental toughness in the face of adversity to this point, and if this is the version of Iriafen they get for the remainder of the tournament, they could very well still make the Final Four.

Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama Crimson Tide)

Let’s not limit our shout outs to players who won their respective games. It would, in fact, be impossible to discuss big second-round performances without mentioning Barker, whose 45-point outburst against Maryland was captivating, regardless of the final score.

Barker’s entire offensive arsenal was on display as she went 17-for-25 from the field, shrugging off contact on drives to the basket and hitting clutch 3-pointers off the catch and off the dribble. For every Maryland basket, Barker had an answer; she even hit three-consecutive free throws with time expiring to send the game to a second overtime, in which, unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Maryland eventually prevailed, 111-108. Barker won’t have the opportunity to repeat her performance in the Sweet 16, but she’s surely won over more than a few fans—and may have similarly influenced professional coaches looking for a large guard in next month’s WNBA Draft.