This is a loaded freshman class. Plenty of rookies posted huge performances during the opening week of the season, but a few really set themselves apart. Here are On3’s top five freshmen performances after Week One.
Jaloni Cambridge made a splash in her college debut, leading all scorers with 31 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out six assists and adding five steals and two blocks to her stat line. She was also 86% from the field. While Ohio State didn’t play a high-major opponent, Cambridge managed this against a Cleveland State team that made the WBIT last season. On a team full of talent, Cambridge separated herself from day one and is in prime contention for national freshman of the year.
Syla Swords is in prime position to make a huge impact this season. Michigan lost six players to the portal and two big contributors to graduation, so their freshmen will have to play a sizable role from the jump. Swords proved that, for her, that’s not a problem at all. She put up 27 points and 12 rebounds against the defending national champions on opening night of the season and was one of the best players on the floor.
The No. 1-ranked freshman in the class really impressed this week. She was 65% from the field and averaged 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and four steals over the UConn Huskies pair of games. Sarah Strong scored 13 points and added seven boards against one of the top mid-majors in the country on Sunday afternoon. She’ll have another opportunity to make a big impact this week against No. 17-ranked North Carolina.
Louisville is a really young team this year with a loaded freshman class, so it was hard to know who would stand out until we saw them in action. The Cardinals have clearly put a ton of trust in Tajianna Roberts, as she was one of two freshmen to start against top-five UCLA on opening day. She had a huge performance, despite the loss, scoring 21 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep.
Vanderbilt is facing some injury trouble to start the season off, which has given Mikayla Blakes an even bigger opportunity to prove herself and make an impact from the jump. The Commodores didn’t play any threatening opponents, but Blakes showed off her versatility in both games this week. She averaged 19.5 points on 54% shooting from the field, four rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals per game.
