Thursday night was loaded with NCAAW games, ten to be exact. A few were fairly unremarkable wins, one was a squeaker win, and the rest were far more interesting and deserved a little more column space. No disrespect intended to anyone, in a Goodfellas way.
Indiana shocks No. 4 Iowa at home
There were three upsets, so we’ll start there. No. 4 Iowa rolled into Bloomington, looking to continue to make ground, but No. 14 Indiana had other ideas. From the get-go, Iowa looked off, disconnected, and distracted. Even though Iowa grabbed a brief lead, Indiana was quick to respond, playing a more focused game. Although Caitlin Clark scored 13 of her 24 points in the first, they weren’t easy. Indiana’s defense was doing a good job of frustrating her, which was quite visible.
The second quarter started at 23-22 Indiana, and despite attempts by Iowa, the Hoosiers maintained their lead which grew to 11 by the half. Clark was limited to seven points, and uncharacteristically missed three of four free throws. Her frustration mounted, which further disconnected her from the game. The third quarter saw Indiana in command, playing like a well-oiled machine, showing again what disciplined defense can do.
Even though Iowa got within eight by the end of the quarter, it was evident that the Hoosiers were not going to roll over for the Hawkeyes. Indiana held Clark to one jumper in the fourth and proceeded to stay laser-focused with a combined balance of offense and defense. Iowa seemed devoid of any real desire to win, on which I think Indiana capitalized.
What happened to Clark and the Hawkeyes?
By the end of the game, a deflated Iowa walked off the court, and a victorious Indiana more than absolved themselves of their loss to Illinois, showing what a really good team they are, winning 86-69. One wonders what Iowa is going to look like post-Clark. Regardless of Hannah Stuelke’s 47-point game, I do not think that she is the future of Iowa. A part of it, yes, but not one to lead the charge. Iowa will have to re-learn how to make a team effort rather than rely on the prowess of one player, an amazing player, but one nonetheless.
Duke takes care of No. 17 Syracuse on the road
Duke made the long trek to upstate New York to face No. 17 Syracuse and slowly peeled the Orange to a low-scoring hard-fought game. The Blue Devils held the lead the entire game save for a one-point Syracuse advantage in the first quarter. After that, it was all Duke all game. Let’s remember too, that Syracuse senior Daisha Fair, who scored 22 points, is fifth behind Caitlin Clark in scoring.
Duke held Syracuse to 25% shooting, out-rebounded the Orange 52-25, and held the assist edge 15-6, but also almost doubled the number of turnovers at 27-15, and accrued 21 fouls to Syracuse’s 14. Duke shined in the paint, grabbing 36 points over the Orange’s 20. The 58-45 victory burned no barns down, but where scoring lacked tenacity took over.
Syracuse is certainly capable of winning, as they have proven all season, so this game was a good example of “on any given day…” Aside from Fair, the only other Syracuse player in double figures was Georgia Woolley with 11. For Duke, Kennedy Brown scored 12 and Reagan Richardson scored 11.
No. 6 NC State falls to UNC in NCAAW action
NC State came into Chapel Hill as the No. 6 team, but Tar Heels might have had a hand in changing that come Monday. It was a tight first quarter, with NC State holding a lead until Lexi Donarski hit a three with 0:19 left, giving UNC a two-point lead of 22-20. The second quarter was close, but after a Mimi Collins free throw tied it at 22 all, the Wolf Pack couldn’t get over the hump, and UNC extended their lead to seven by the half.
NC State got as close as three on a three-point jumper from Saniya Rivers at 3:07, but then buckets by Donarski, Alexandra Zelaya, and Deja Kelly opened it up to ten. NC State never got any closer than eight in the fourth, and the Tar Heels went on to win 80-70. Save for River Baldwin, who had a quiet game, the NC State starters did what they could. Aziaha James scored 24 with 9 boards, Saniya Rivers had 13 points, and Mimi Collins and Madison Hayes each scored 11, with 10 and 9 boards respectively.
Lexi Donarski stood out for Duke with 23 points, followed by Alyssa Ustby with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Maria Gakdeng with 12 points. Off the bench, Alexandra Zelaya scored 12 and Indya Nivar scored 11.
LSU avoids the upset with win over Auburn in SEC play
No. 13 LSU saw Auburn give them a fight. The first quarter saw several lead changes, with Auburn holding a one-point lead until Hailey Van Lith hit a three at the buzzer to put LSU up 19-17. It was more of the same in the second until buckets from Aaliyah Del Rosario, Last-Tear Poa, and Flau’jae Johnson took the LSU lead to 10, leaving it 40-30 at the half. Auburn outscored LSU in the third by one, and going into the fourth, it was 58-49.
Auburn again outscored LSU in the fourth but never got closer than three points, and LSU managed to escape with a five-point win, 71-66. For Auburn, Honesty Scott-Grayson scored 28, and Jamya Mingo-Young scored 16. The bench provided a mere two points from one of five players. LSU played only seven, with Angel Reese having a standout game scoring 25 points with 20 rebounds, Flau’jae Johnson scoring 11, and Last-Tear Poa scoring 13 off the bench. This was a tough test for LSU, having been beaten by Auburn in January 67-62. This time they passed.
Louisville gets the win over Georgia Tech in NCAAW play
In other games, No. 20 Louisville went wire to wire, beating Georgia Tech 80-62. Louisville went 12-22 from three, and GT 4-11. GT had 30 points in the paint to Louisville’s 24, and Louisville had 18 fouls to GT’s 12. For Louisville, no starters were in double figures, but Sydney Taylor had 31 points and Jayda Curry had 13 off the bench. Make of that what you will, but Coach Walz has some work to do. Kara Dunn led Georgia Tech with 17 points and 9 boards, Toni Morgan grabbed 16 points, and Rusne Augustinaite scored 14 off the bench.
Top-ranked South Carolina gets the W over Alabama
No. 1 South Carolina, after a pitiful first quarter, scoring only 11 points to Alabama’s 6, eventually took control in the second, and beat Alabama 72-44. The Gamecocks have now won a share of the SEC regular-season title. This wasn’t exactly a stellar game for South Carolina, who shot only 38.5%, going 25-65. I am convinced that come tournament time, someone is going to find a way to take advantage of whatever South Carolina’s weaknesses are, and quite possibly spoil a title run.
For Alabama, Jessica Timmons scored 20 points with 8 boards, and Loyal McQueen scored 15. The Alabama bench clocked in with a goose egg. Ashlyn Watkins led the Gamecocks with 14 points and 1o boards, Bree Hall had 13 points, and Tessa Johnson scored 12 with Santa Feagin bagging 10, both off the bench.
No. 19 Notre Dame rolls to win against Clemson
No. 19 Notre Dame met Clemson, who after the first quarter held to only a two-point lead after going up 14-4, ending the quarter 18-16. The Irish went up 23-22 on a Kylee Watson layup in the second, and then never looked back. Sonia Citron, Maddie Westbeld, Anna DeWolfe, Hannah Hidalgo, and KK Brantford off the bench provided the juice Notre Dame needed to seal the deal. Clemson simply got out-played, with only Ruby Whitehorn, Amari Robinson, and Dayshanette Harris in double figures.
Some might call this an off-night for Hidalgo, but I appreciate a more balanced attack, which Notre Dame provided. The more Westbeld, Citron, DeWolfe, and Brantford handle the ball, the better they’ll be. Let Hidalgo do her thing, of course, but everyone needs to step up.
UCLA dominated Utah in their top-20 matchup
No. 12 UCLA took apart visiting No. 18 Utah 82-52. UCLA never trailed, and other than Alissa Pili scoring 20 with 11 boards and Kennedy McQueen scoring 11, Utah just didn’t have the stuff to overcome UCLA’s attack. The starters for the Bruins did their jobs, with London Jo s scoring 23, Lauren Betts 14, and Kiki Rice and Charisma Osborne each adding 13 points. A blowout is a blowout, and to try and analyze why I will leave it to the coaches when they watch the film with their team. I’m not one for pouring salt on an open wound unless it is really warranted. It isn’t here.
Ohio State gets the win over Penn State in BIG 10 action
No. 2 Ohio State topped Penn State 82-69. The Buckeyes held the lead for the entire game, although Penn State had a little surge in the fourth quarter, scoring ten points in the last minute of the game, but too little too late. The usual suspects stood out for Ohio State, with Jacy Sheldon scoring 20, Celeste Taylor and Cotie McMahon each scoring 16, and Taylor Thierry scoring 14. Ashley Owusu led Penn State with 22, and both Ali Brigham and Leilani Kapinus scored 10, with Kapinus grabbing 10 boards.
So far, Ohio State has held the No. 2 spot longer than the previous five teams. The next two games shouldn’t change that. Then they face Iowa in Iowa for their final regular season game. We shall see.
Gonzaga adds to their winning streak
And finally, No. 16 Gonzaga beat San Francisco 74-48, increasing their winning streak to 21 and 33 at home. Sometimes I feel like I give Gonzaga short shrift because they really don’t seem to have any competition. That, of course, has nothing to do with Gonzaga, but it does make me wonder how they will do in the NCAA Tournament against much tougher teams should they advance. It also doesn’t or shouldn’t detract from the quality of the Gonzaga players.
The Bulldogs shot 27-60 and the Dons 21-58. So that is part of the 26 margin. Then Gonzaga made 13-14 at the free throw line while San Francisco only shot 3-4, which means Gonzaga didn’t give up shooting fouls. Gonzaga went 7-24 from three and the Dons 2-24. So put all those stats together and there is a win by 26 points. I am not by any long shot a statistician, so don’t grill me on that. I’m just really eager and curious to see Gonzaga in the tournament.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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