Editor's note: Charlie Creme, Graham Hays, Michelle Smith and Mechelle Voepel each vote to determine espnW's national player of the week, which is awarded every Monday of the women's college basketball season.
Jewell Loyd has played in someone else's shadow her entire college career. Despite her unbelievable athleticism, acrobatic finishing skills and consistency, the spotlight always seemed to shine in another direction.
As a freshman, Loyd was a vital member of a Final Four team, but Skylar Diggins was a Notre Dame senior and the face of the program. Last season, Loyd led the Irish in scoring and was second in rebounding, but Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa were the veterans and bigger personalities.
Even this season when Loyd sits near the top of every "watch list," she still doesn't get mentioned until after talk of Connecticut's Breanna Stewart eats up most of the conversation.
This week, the Notre Dame junior takes a backseat to no one, winning espnW's national player of the week honors thanks entirely to a career night in the Irish's 94-93 improbable overtime win at DePaul on Wednesday.
Loyd's 41 points set a career high and matched Ruth Riley's single-game school scoring record. The Irish needed every bit of that production from their unassuming star to avoid an upset, including two free throws with 5.3 seconds left in overtime that turned a one-point deficit into a one-point victory. Loyd made 15 of 18 free throws in the game, including two more that tied the score at 82 and forced overtime. She also managed 12 rebounds and three assists, and thanks to the scoring explosion is now the top point producer in the ACC three weeks before the start of conference play.
Not one to say much, and certainly not about herself, Loyd was taken off the hook because her coach, Muffet McGraw, summed up her star's performance succinctly and accurately, calling it "amazing." Loyd's on-court assertiveness was also vital. This was the first game for a still somewhat-inexperienced Notre Dame team since its disappointing loss to Connecticut, and the Irish were once again playing without their second-leading scorer, freshman Brianna Turner, who is out with a dislocated shoulder.
Loyd's play was more deferential on Saturday in a 70-50 victory over Michigan, but also effective. She put up 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting. That's half the number of field goal attempts she had against the Blue Demons.
This huge week came immediately after she earned ACC player of the week honors for averaging nearly 21 points and five rebounds per game in contests against UConn and Maryland. If Loyd continues to stack more weeks like these together, she might finally force all the "best player" conversations to start with her.
Also nominated: Andrea Hoover, Dayton; Blake Dietrick, Princeton
Previous players of the week: Nov. 24: Stanford's Lili Thompson | Dec. 1: Chattanooga's Gilbert | Dec. 8: UConn's Tuck