Victaria Saxton (born November 10, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. She was drafted in the third round of the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Fever. She played college basketball at South Carolina, where she won a national championship during the 2021–22 season.

Victaria Saxton
Saxton with the Indiana Fever in 2024
No. 5 – Indiana Fever
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-11-10) November 10, 1999 (age 24)
Rome, Georgia, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight181 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolModel High School
(Rome, Georgia)
College
WNBA draft2023: 3rd round, 25th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023-presentIndiana Fever
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Saxton was the 47th rated recruit of the 2018 high school class per ESPN's HoopGurlz rankings and the 6th-rated forward.[1] In November 2017, Saxton signed to play with the South Carolina Gamecocks.[2]

College career

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During her freshman season, Saxton was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 4.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.[3] During the 2020–21 season, Saxton was named to the Hemisfair all-region team during the NCAA tournament.[4]

After falling in the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA tournament, Saxton and the Gamecocks returned to the Final Four in 2022 and defeated the UConn Huskies in the title game to secure the program's second national title.[5] Saxton returned to South Carolina for the 2022–23 season, taking advantage of the NCAA's COVID-19 eligibility extension.[6]

During her seasons at South Carolina, Saxton won three SEC regular-season championships, three SEC tournament titles, three NCAA Final Four showings, and was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for 38 straight weeks (the second-longest streak in the history of AP polling).[7]

Professional career

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Saxton was drafted 25th overall in the third round of the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.[8] Saxton and her former Gamecock teammate and #1 pick in the 2023 Draft, Aliyah Boston, both made the 2023 roster. Saxton made her WNBA debut on May 19, 2023, playing 1 minute against the Connecticut Sun.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
* Denotes seasons in which Saxton won an NCAA championship

WNBA

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Regular season

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Stats current through end of 2024 regular season

WNBA regular season statistics[9]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2023 Indiana 15 0 3.6 .333 .500 .857 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.4 1.3
2024 Indiana 9 0 2.6 .333 .250 .500 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.9
Career 2 years, 1 team 24 0 3.2 .333 .333 .778 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.1

Playoffs

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WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2024 Indiana 1 0 2.0 1.000° 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
Career 1 year, 1 team 1 0 2.0 1.000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0

College

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NCAA statistics[10]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018–19 South Carolina 28 1 10.4 .571 .581 3.0 0.2 0.5 1.3 0.7 4.1
2019–20 South Carolina 33 0 15.4 .570 .574 3.9 0.3 0.9 1.3 0.8 5.4
2020–21 South Carolina 31 30 23.6 .573 .628 5.8 0.5 1.2 1.5 1.3 8.9
2021–22* South Carolina 37 37 21.5 .503 .000 .642 5.8 1.2 0.7 1.3 1.2 5.8
2022–23 South Carolina 37 37 16.1 .456 .500 .692 3.1 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.9 4.9
Career 166 105 17.6 .531 .333 .624 4.3 0.6 0.7 1.2 1.0 5.8

References

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  1. ^ "2018 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. ^ Whittle, John. "Staley adds Victaria Saxton to 2018 class". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  3. ^ "2019 SEC Women's Basketball Awards announced". secsports.com. SEC Sports. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. ^ Boynton, Eric. "South Carolina women's basketball crushes Texas to advance to the Final Four". goupstate.com. Go Upstate. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  5. ^ PUTNIK, GARY; SUBHAN, AMNA. "South Carolina wins 2022 DI women's basketball national championship". NCAA.com. NCAA. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  6. ^ Stone, Augusta. "'Let's Run It Back: Gamecock veteran Victaria Saxton will return for a final season". thestate.com. The State. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Victaria Saxton". gamecocksonline.com. South Carolina Athletics. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  8. ^ Adams, Emily. "Victaria Saxton picked No. 25 in 2023 WNBA Draft by Indiana Fever, joining Aliyah Boston". greenvilleonline.com. Greenville News. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Victaria Saxton WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  10. ^ "Victaria Saxton College Stats". Sports Reference.
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