UCLA Women's Basketball: Bruins Guard Bolsters Case For Naismith Women’s College POY Vs Buffs

Charisma Osborne is putting up an award-worthy season.

UCLA women's basketball guard Charisma Osborne put in another stellar performance during the Bruins' latest win. No. 5 UCLA rebounded from their first loss of the season to USC with a 76-68 win over No. 3 Colorado, handing the Buffaloes just their second loss of the year.

Osborne came up huge in the win, leading her team in points as they beat one of the nation's top teams. She put up 22 points, four rebounds, and two assists while also leading her team by playing 36 minutes of the game.

This performance will only bolster her case for end-of-season awards, including the prestigious Naismith Player of the Year award. Osborne is on the Naismith POY watch list, and will likely be in the running for numerous Pac-12 awards.

Another great performance from @CharismaOsborne last night‼️

The @jerseymikes Naismith Women’s College POY Watch List player led the scoring with 22 in a HUGE Top-5 win for @UCLAWBB 🔥🔥#jerseymikesnaismith https://t.co/1feY5DUs1x

— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) January 20, 2024

However, it's still unlikely she'll win the POY award. Osborne is one of many women's college basketball stars who are on the watchlist, including teammate Kiki Rice. While Osborne is having a good year, she's averaging 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, which is well below the stats of some of her other competitors. 

Iowa standout Caitlin Clark is still the leading candidate for the Naismith POY Award. Clark is practically unstoppable and the reigning Naismith POY award. On top of this, few female college hoop players attract nearly the national and media attention that Clark does, which only boosts her case. 

Of course, Clark is deserving as well. She leads the NCAA averaging 31 points per game, which is 4.5 more points per game than the second-place player, USC's Juju Watkins. Clark is also second in assists per game, averaging 7.7 this season.

This doesn't take anything away from what Osborne has done this season, but just means the odds for her or anyone other than Clark to win the Naismith POY award are pretty slim.