Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale Women’s National Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for games ending Jan. 23. Lee set an NCAA Division I single-game record with 61 points against then-No. 14 Oklahoma Sunday.
 
Lee, who won Big 12 Player of the Week honors, snapped the 35-year old record of 60 set by Long Beach State’s Cindy Brown and later matched by Minnesota’s Rachel Banham in 2016. Lee broke Brittney Griner’s (Baylor) Big 12 single-game record by 11 points and Sheryl Swoopes’ (Texas Tech) record against a ranked team by eight points.
 
Adding in a 25-point performance in a key win against Kansas, Lee averaged a Big 12 record 43.0 points on the week while shooting 66.0 percent from the floor. The Wildcats moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 standings after their 2-0 week.
 
Lee is only the second player to earn the distinction twice in one season since the USBWA started the award in 2011, joining Sabrina Ionescu, who accomplished the feat in Oregon’s Final Four season of 2018-19. The Big 12 has had a player or team honored in four of the past five weeks, and a total of five USBWA honors this season.