South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo headlines AP All-America women’s basketball team

JuJu Watkins of Southern California and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame made the Associated Press All-America team in their first two seasons playing college basketball, joining an elite group.

The duo on Wednesday became only the third and fourth players to earn first-team All-America honors in their freshman and sophomore years, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and Connecticut’s Maya Moore.

Watkins was a unanimous choice from the 31-member national media panel that chooses the AP Top 25 each week. Hidalgo received all but two first-place votes.

UConn’s Paige Bueckers earned All-America honors for the third time, becoming just the 12th player to do that. UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Texas’ Madison Booker rounded out the first team. Bueckers and Betts were unanimous choices.

Watkins led USC to the Big Ten regular season title, the school’s first conference championship since 1994, and its highest ranking in the poll. She averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists to lead the Trojans.

“She set her own bar so high last year and then she managed to surpass it,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “She has the ability to lock in and get to a zone, raise her own level, and galvanize those around her. Above all else, she’s a winner.”

Hidalgo, who’s from Merchantville and graduated from Paul VI in Haddonfield, has been dominant on both ends of the floor for the Fighting Irish. She earned ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors and averaged 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 steals. She’s fourth in the country in steals a year after leading in that category.

“What a well-deserved honor for Hannah. To be one of just four players to ever make the AP All-America first team in both of their first seasons is a major accomplishment,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “I’m so proud of her, and I can’t wait to see what she does in March.”

Bueckers had another strong season for the Huskies. She averaged 19.0 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. She guided UConn to another undefeated Big East season and is the expected No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft next month.

“She makes it look like it is never hard and never a struggle to get her points and get the shots off she wants,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who grew up in Norristown and attended Bishop Kenrick High School and West Chester State College (now West Chester University).

» READ MORE: Laura Ziegler is grateful she saw the signs that brought her to St. Joseph’s. So are the Hawks.

Betts averaged 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds and shot 63.4% from the field. She also was fifth in the country with 2.93 blocks per game. She’s the first player in UCLA history to earn first-team All-America honors.

“Lauren Betts has been dominant from start to finish on both ends of the floor,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “She continues to grow her versatility and her skill set, and his is the deserved fruit of her labor. This is first an individual accomplishment for Lauren, but it is also a team accomplishment. So proud of it all.”

Booker, who was a second-team All-American last spring, averaged 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists for the Longhorns, who tied for the SEC regular season title with South Carolina.

“To be preseason [All-American] and then to go live it, getting everybody’s best shot, and you’re the first person talked about in the scouting report, that’s the most difficult thing to do. She did it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.

Watkins, Bueckers, Booker, and Hidalgo were on the preseason AP All-America team. They were joined by USC’s Kiki Iriafen.

The AP second team was headlined by LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, who led the nation in rebounding with 13.6 per game. She was joined by UConn’s Sarah Strong, Florida State’s Ta’niya Latson, Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, and Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore.

» READ MORE: King of Prussia native Megan Griffith readies Columbia for its return to the NCAA Tournament

The AP third team was Iriafen, TCU’s Hailey Van Lith, who was the Big 12 player of the year, Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson, and Iowa State’s Audi Crooks.

Raegan Beers of Oklahoma, Sedona Prince of TCU, and Joyce Edwards of South Carolina were the leading vote-getters among players who didn’t make the three All-America teams. Players earned honorable-mention status if they appeared on one of the ballots.