What a weekend in NCAAW! Twenty Top 25 games, the Super Bowl, and one very important match for my preferred Premier League football team, in which Arsenal throttled West Ham United 6-0, or more properly, 6-nil. Go Gunners!
Concerning the weekend, some games stood out for various reasons, and some were fairly expected wins. So today I’m going to depart from the usual blow-by-blow of every game and focus on those which, to me, were out of the ordinary. No slight intended to the teams left out, but if you just want stats, you know where they are.
Princeton defeats Penn in IVY LEAGUE action
First, Saturday’s games. No. 25 Princeton, who are undefeated in the IVY LEAGUE, were tested in the third quarter when Penn cut the deficit to only 4 points. At the half, Princeton led 37-26, but in the third quarter, Kaitlyn Chen made a free throw, adding a point to Princeton’s lead. Then no one scored until the 7:56 mark when Mataya Gayle made a layup for the Quakers, who would eventually win the quarter 18-11, cutting the Princeton lead to four.
Then Ese Ogbevire hit a layup, but that was as close as Penn would get. While Princeton’s scoring wasn’t exactly burning any barns, Penn’s was worse, and both teams ambled to the finish line, with Princeton winning 67-54. What I find most interesting here is that, statistically, Princeton should have had a much easier time. But as is so often the case, consistency can be unpredictable, and while they won, it might not have been the most stellar of wins.
Baylor picks up the win over West Virginia in a BIG 12 matchup
No. 18 Baylor won a close, low-scoring game 65-58, which put an end to No. 22 West Virginia’s seven-game winning streak. Baylor sits sixth in BIG 12 conference play, with WVU at fourth. What was most interesting in this game was that WVU starters outscored the Baylor starters 53-48, so one might argue that Bella Fontleroy’s double-double of 12 points and 10 boards won the game for Baylor. Each team had three starters in double digits with WVU edging out Baylor 37-36.
This seems like a perfect example of a well-balanced game, save for the fact that Baylor won the turnover matchup 19-11, but also the rebounds 41-33. Fouls were 18-17 WVU, and points in the paint were 26-24 WVU. In a way, this was a game of who blinks first, so perhaps WVU had just one too many blinks.
Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Texas win in NCAAW play
No. 8 Kansas State won a nail-biter against Oklahoma State 69-68. At the half, KSU was up 33-25. Then, in yet another third quarter reversal, OKST outscored KSU 28-18, to put them up by two. In the fourth, OKST extended their lead to seven until KSU hit the gas to get within one. A missed jumper from OKST’s Anna Grey Asi was then followed by a driving layup from Serena Sundell, and the game ended on a missed shot from Hannah Gusters, leaving the Cowgirls in the dust. What is it about third quarters?
No. 24 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 86-72. OU established their lead in the first half 49-35, and then both teams had identical scores in the second half, each quarter being 20-17 in Oklahoma’s favor. ISU had 20 turnovers compared to Oklahoma’s 19, and Oklahoma had 26 fouls to ISU’s 13. The game was essentially won in the first quarter, and although ISU jumped out to an early though small lead, it took Oklahoma until the two-minute mark to finally extend their lead, which ISU couldn’t catch for the rest of the game.
No. 7 Texas beat TCU 65-43, thanks to a second half where Texas outscored TCU 42-23. It looked bleak at the half with Texas up 23-20. At the half. TCU scored the last nine points of the second quarter to cut the lead from 23-11 to 23-20, with Texas going blank for over four minutes.
Ranked Creighton and Gonzaga win in convincing fashion
The other two Saturday games saw No. 21 Creighton hammer DePaul 88-59 and No. 19 Gonzaga pummel LMU 71-47. I’m beginning to think that Gonzaga needs to be in a more competitive conference. DePaul, well, DePaul is just going to have to muscle through the season and figure out how to right the ship next year.
Now, on to Sunday’s action.
Top-ranked South Carolina wins top-15 showdown over UConn
The much-anticipated contest between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 11 UConn was an exercise in one team having a great game and another team having a not-so-great game. The stats for this game tell a big part of the story. Each team had 71 shot attempts, but the Gamecocks scored on 33 while the Huskies only 26. UConn hit seven 3s, as did South Carolina. However, UConn went 7-23, and South Carolina 719. South Carolina won the rebound battle 46-37.
Each team had 13 turnovers. UConn had 9 fast break points to SC’s 19, and the Gamecocks outscored UConn in the paint 34-22. Now, UConn has never made excuses about having so many injured players. This game was simply a bad-shooting game for UConn and a better shooting and better defensive game for South Carolina. Aaliyah Edwards getting 20 points and 12 boards is not a bad game. Paige Bueckers with 20 points is not a bad game.
Freshman Ashlynn Shade with 14 points is not a bad game. But Te-Hina Paopao going 5-7 from three is a good game, Ashlyn Watkins with 15 points is a good game, Chloe Kitts with 14 points is a good game, and Raven Johnson with 10 points and 12 points is a good game. So, after all this, UConn had a really bad shooting day, and South Carolina had a much better one. Is UConn a talented team? Yes, they are, as is South Carolina.
Takeaways from the UConn – South Carolina game
We saw in the LSU game that the Gamecocks have weaknesses. They didn’t have those weaknesses against UConn. We’ve seen UConn have huge wins in some of their conference games against very worthy opponents like Marquette, Creighton, and Villanova. They didn’t have that against South Carolina. There are those who thought UConn would lose by 40 points. They didn’t do that, which means South Carolina didn’t beat them by 40 points. On another day, maybe. On another day, UConn might have won.
It is too easy to dismiss a team because of a bad day. I don’t for a minute think that Dawn Staley took this game lightly. Her team just played a hell of a good game, and UConn didn’t. I am always amused when someone says “We needed a game like this.” No, UConn didn’t need a game like this. The lessons learned from this game are not really that profound. I also do not see South Carolina taking this win as a sign of total dominance. It was their day, their game. All I can say is remember back to the semi-finals last year. I don’t think many people saw that coming.
Notre Dame wins over Florida State in a high-scoring affair
No. 12 Notre Dame versus FSU was simply a great game. A double-overtime win that had the makings of a real upset. While the Irish took 23 more shot attempts, they made only one less than FSU, 36-37. Notre Dame outrebounded FSU on the offensive board 20-5. FSU had 14 blocked shots to ND’s 5. Points in the paint were close, with FSU getting 44 to Notre Dame’s 38. For FSU, Ta’Niya Latson had a monster game scoring 34, with Sara Benedict adding 16, Makayla Timpson scoring 18 with 15 boards, and O’Mariah Gordon putting in 18.
For Notre Dame, Hannah Hidalgo, who was held to 6 points in the first quarter, ended with 27, Anna DeWolfe scored 24 with 6-9 from three, Maddie Westbeld had 19 points with 14 boards, and Sonia Citron added 18 points and 8 rebounds. It was Citron’s seven of Notre Dame’s 10 points in the second overtime that pushed the Irish over the finish line along with a timely steal by Kylee Watson. This was a classic back-and-forth game, with plenty of drama, the good kind.
What Hannah Hidalgo missed in shooting (she went 7-25) she more than made up for at the stripe, going 13-14. Anna DeWolfe’s 24 points were a season high. This was one of those games that you could watch and get lost in, just enjoying the quality of play and the drive that each team exhibited. As I said, this was great basketball.
Unranked Nebraska upsets No. 2 Iowa at home
No. 2 Iowa was stunned by Nebraska, who won 82-79. It must be the No. 2 jinx. Iowa was up handily at the end of the third quarter. The fourth started with Kendall Moriarty making a jumper to make the score 69-57. Hannah Stuelke responded with a layup, making it 71-57. That was at 9:25. The Hawkeyes did not score again until the 5:06 mark when Kate Martin hit a three. At that point Nebraska had added 8 points, cutting it to 74-65.
Jaz Shelley hit a three right after Martin’s, Natalie Potts hit two free throws to bring it to 74-70. Kate Martin hit another three, but Logan Nissley responded 20 seconds later with a three. Logan Nissley made two more free throws at 2:14, and then Jan Shelley hit a three at 0:32. At 0:19 Gabbie Marshall fouled Shelley, who made both free throws, and it’s 80-77 Nebraska. Stuelke made a layup and then fouled Shelley, who made another pair of free throws. Nebraska is up 82-79.
Caitlin Clark missed a three, Sydney Affolter got the offensive rebound, and Kate Martin missed the three at 0:01. Clark avoided the conversation about breaking the scoring record at the presser and said that they had to stop blowing leads and getting back to what they can do to get better. With eight points to go, there is no doubt that Clark will break the record at their next game, which is at home. But kudos to her for keeping a level head and perspective amidst the intense scrutiny and social media nonsense.
Syracuse and Oregon State pull off upset wins in NCAA action
No. 23 Syracuse upset No. 15 Louisville 73-72. Dyashia Fair scored a game-leading 29 points for Syracuse, including the two free throws after an intentional foul by Louisville’s Olivia Cochran with 0:02 left.
No. 17 Oregon State upset No. 4 Colorado 65-59, Colorado’s lowest total of the season. It was 60-38 in favor of Oregon State at the end of the third quarter. Then Colorado came roaring back, holding ORST to five points while scoring 21, but it just wasn’t enough. Colorado and ORST sit at second and third in the PAC-12.
No. 20 Utah made easy work of Oregon, winning 70-48, while No. 14 Indiana steamrolled Purdue 95-62. Indiana is tied with Iowa at No. 2 in the BIG 10 behind Ohio State. No. 3 NC State, after a loss to Virginia Tech, came back to easily handle Pitt 83-47.
Virginia Tech avoids the upset thanks to Amoore and Kitley
No. 16 Virginia Tech held off a feisty Boston College 74-63. BC jumped out to an early lead of 4-0 until VT finally scored at the 6:56 mark when Matilda Eke hit a three on an assist by Georgia Amoore. Amoore then made a three, and VT held the lead for the rest of the quarter. In the second quarter, Boston College kept pace with the Hokies until Amoore hit another three at the 4:25 mark. Then VT kept the lead for the rest of the quarter.
In the third, VT held on, although BC brought it within six by quarter’s end. Early in the fourth quarter, BC got within three, but that was as close as they were going to get, although they certainly made it interesting for the Hokies. Amoore scored 26, Elizabeth Kitley 24 with 15 boards, which accounted for 50 of the 74 points for the Hokies. Olivia Summiel added 11 rebounds as well. For Boston College, the bench scored 27 and the starters 36, with Teya Sidberry and T’Yana Todd adding 15 each.
Andrea Daley scored 11 off the bench. What a weekend.
And that, my friends, as they say, ‘is that.’ — Martin Ruben
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