Twenty NCAAW games this weekend, folks, count ’em, twenty. A veritable potpourri of results; the good, the upset, and the business as usual. Let’s start with Saturday’s games.
The Tigers of No. 25 Princeton prowled across the river to meet the Columbia Lions for the Battle of the Brainiacs. Columbia took the first quarter and Princeton the second, with the Tigers leading by one at the half. Columbia then took the third to go up 53-45. While Princeton was able to get within one, a costly foul on Chet Nweke resulted in one of two made free throws for Fliss Henderson, and then Kaitlyn Chen missed a jumper, and the Lions didn’t exactly roar out but strut proudly with a 67-65 win.
I’m going to guess that the AP voters will likely drop Princeton out of the Top 25. Columbia was led by Abbey Hsu, who scored 26 points, followed by Cecelia Collins with 14 and Kitty Henderson with 11 and 8 boards. For Princeton, Chet Nweke led with 17 points, Kaitlyn Chen had 14 with 8 assists, and Madison St. Rose scored 10. As they say in Ivy League basketball, hit the court, forget the books.
Baylor got the win over West Virginia in a Top-25 NCAAW battle
No. 24 Baylor won a nail-biter over No. 22 West Virginia 66-65. It was tight at the half, with West Virginia up by three. Baylor then pulled ahead in the third leading 50-32. Down by 10 in the fourth with 3:17 remaining, the Mountaineers began the climb with a layup by JJ Quinerly. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs hit two free throws for Baylor to bring it to ten, and immediately Quinerly hit two more free throws. Baylor 64 WVU 56.
Quinerly hits a jumper, Jordan Harrison makes a layup, Quinerly makes a layup, Baylor turns the ball over, and Quinerly hits a three. Timeout Baylor! Then, at 0:04, a costly foul on Quinerly, and Jana Van Gytenbeek makes two free throws, sealing the 66-65 victory. I’m exhausted just writing this. Let’s see what movement there is for these teams on Monday’s new AP Poll. Scoring for Baylor was a true team effort, but for WVU, without Quinerly’s 33 points, this could have been a disaster.
The stats were fairly close, although Baylor had 24 turnovers to WVU’s 20, with the Mountaineers scoring 36 points off turnovers. Bears, back to the cave for some film-watching.
No. 21 Creighton defeats Villanova in convincing fashion
After Villanova shot out to a 23-10 lead over No. 21 Creighton in the first quarter, it was all Creighton after that. Creighton opened the fourth quarter leading 54-45, and with some lulls in the shooting, Villanova managed to creep back, but it wasn’t enough, and Creighton closed them out. It was all starters for Villanova, with Lucy Olsen scoring 26, Christina Dalce 14, and Maddie Webber 10. Only one of the four bench players scored with 6 points. Lauren Jensen led the way for Creighton with 20, Morgan Maly scored 18 with 8 boards, Emma Ronsiek 15, and Molly Mogensen scored 13 with 6 assists.
No. 23 Oklahoma rolls over in-state rival Oklahoma State
No. 23 Oklahoma buzz-sawed Oklahoma State 91-56. While the score at the half was 43-35 for the Sooners, it was the second half when Oklahoma turned on the juice. Freshman Sahara Williams led the Sooners with 20, Skylar Vann scored 17, and Payton Verhulst added 14.
Texas and Gonzaga get wire-to-wire victories in their games
No. 5 Texas lassoed UCF 87-56. Texas led 39-18 at the half, then opened the door just a smidge in the third, with UCF outscoring Texas 25-22. In the fourth, the Longhorns stampeded 26-13, leaving UCF in the dust, or the Everglades. While Texas got fairly balanced scoring from the starters, only Deyona Gaston off the bench scored significant points with 12. Like many teams, they lose a starter and they’re in trouble. For UCF, only starter Kaitlin Peterson scored 14 while Tim Ware scored 16 off the bench.
And finally, No. 16 Gonzaga blew past Pepperdine 75-41. All I can say is that it really is time for Gonzaga to consider joining a more competitive conference. Remember when UConn was in the AAC? In seven years they never lost a conference game. Is Gonzaga in that situation in the WCC? Maybe. After a while, the big fish might want to get out of the small pond and give the ocean a try.
And now, Sunday’s fourteen games.
Top-ranked South Carolina gets resounding win over Kentucky
First, No. 1 South Carolina blew into Lexington and didn’t stop until they had routed Kentucky 103-55. Six of nine Gamecocks were in double figures, and although each team committed numerous turnovers (19 for Kentucky and 15 for SC) the Gamecocks scored 32 points off of them, and Kentucky only 10. South Carolina dominated the paint, outscoring Kentucky 52-24, without the assistance of Kamilla Cardoso, who sat out for the second time. Everyone who played for the Gamecocks scored.
Bree Hall led with 18, MiLaysia Fulwiley had 17 off the bench, and Chloe Kitts had a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards. Ajae Petty scored 16 and had 8 boards for Kentucky, followed by Saniah Tyler off the bench with 15 and Maddie Scherr with 11.
No. 19 Fighting Irish rolls over Boston College
No. 19 Notre Dame made a cream pie out of Boston College by a score of 79-55. Without Dontavia Waggoner’s 25 points and 15 boards, it might have been a lot worse. The combined shooting of Westbeld, Hannah Hidalgo, Citron, and DeWolfe yielded 64 of Notre Dame’s 79 points. That’s what you want from your starters.
Some might call Hidalgo’s game a little off, going 0-6 from three (Citron also went 0-6 from deep) but this was truly a combined, team effort. Even though BC took the first quarter 21-11, they just couldn’t muster enough to overcome ND’s dominance for the rest of the game.
Iowa gets the win at home over Illinois in Big Ten action
The pesky Fighting Illini came to Iowa City looking for an upset but unfortunately ran into a well-oiled Hawkeye machine, and No. 4 Iowa came away with a 101-85 victory. Iowa led by 16 at the half, and then the teams scored 27-24 Illinois in the third and Iowa 27-24 in the fourth giving Iowa the eventual win. Caitlin Clark scored her 16th career triple-double, with 24 points, 15 boards, and 10 assists. Hannah Stuelke added 20, Molly Davis 17, and Kate Martin 13.
The Iowa starters played the majority of the game and got only two points from the bench. Enjoy this while it lasts, folks because once Clark and Co. leave, this is going to be a noticeably different Iowa team. All five Illini starters scored in double figures, with Makira Cook leading with 26 points, Genesis Bryant with 19, Adalia McKenzie with 13, Camille Hobby with 12, and Kendall Bostic with 10 points and 17 boards. Illinois had six bench players and came away with only five points from Gretchen Dolan.
That Iowa allowed 85 points from an opponent is noteworthy. That was one point shy of the Illinois win over Indiana. Something to think about.
No. 15 UConn took the wind out of DePaul with a nearly 40-point win
No. 15 UConn arrived in the Windy City, bringing the wind along with them, and proceeded to take down struggling DePaul 104-67. In some ways, this game seemed closer than it was. UConn had a couple of lulls, but the Blue Demons couldn’t seem to capitalize on them. DePaul played with a lot of heart and did not simply roll over for the Huskies without a fight.
They simply got out-gunned, and if this game is a glimpse into the near future, then UConn, who seem to be just going about their business of getting better, might create a few surprises in the NCAA Tournament. All five Husky starters scored in double figures with Paige Bueckers grabbing 30, Aaliyah Edwards 23 and 17 boards, Ashlynn Shade 13, KK Arnold 12, and Nika Mühl 10 with 8 assists. Kate Clarke scored 24 for DePaul and Katlyn Gilbert 13 points and 10 boards. Only one point came from the DePaul bench.
LSU gets the win over the Vols in SEC play
No. 13 LSU topped Tennessee 75-60. Neither team shot particularly well, with LSU at 33.3% and Tennessee at 31.1%. The stats were fairly even, except for LSU’s 21 fast break points to Tennessee’s 8, and the Lady Vols grabbing 36 points in the paint to LSU’s 30. So where did Tennessee go wrong? The starters. Only Rickea Jackson and Tamari Key were in double figures, with 16 and 10 respectively. Tennesse went 3-18 from deep, while LSU went 6-15.
The teams were even on free throws, Tennessee had four more turnovers than LSU with a margin of 11-7, which is not a massive amount but it is enough to contribute to the loss, as LSU scored 14 points off of turnovers and Tennessee only 3. I’m starting to wonder how long Kellie Harper’s tenure is going to last. Is Harper the coach to lead the Lady Vols into the future? That’s a good question.
LSU managed to get some great production out of Hailey Van Lith, who scored 26, Mikaylah Williams who nabbed 15, and Angel Reese, who ended with 11 points and 15 rebounds. When LSU loses Van Lith, Reese, and Morrow, the question is, who are they?
Buckeyes wins over the Terrapins in NCAAW action
No. 2 Ohio State took care of Maryland 79-66. OSU stayed well in control of the game until the third quarter when Maryland had a power surge and managed to get within five points by the end of the quarter. Then Ohio State said enough and methodically opened the lead just enough to take advantage of Maryland’s lack of fuel and win the game. We’ve seen Maryland in this situation before, not being able to get over the hump. It’s an intangible that must drive Brenda Freeze crazy.
Maryland only played seven with Bri McDaniel scoring 21, Brinae Alexander 16, and Jake Brown-Turner 10. Ohio State starters all scored in double figures, with Celeste Taylor grabbing 20, Jacy Sheldon 17, Cotie McMahon 15, Rebecca Mikulasikova 11, and Taylor Thierry 10. OSU played four off the bench, and only Rikki Harris scored 6 points. Come tournament time, these OSU starters might be rather tired. While Maryland does have an overall winning record they are 8-8 in conference play. Not where they want to be.
Syracuse avoids the upset against Pitt
No. 17 Syracuse was on the verge of being upset by Pitt. That is, until the fourth quarter. Pitt had a lead of 49-41 after the third, and then promptly forgot how to score. Two buckets in ten minutes by Pitt allowed Syracuse to take the lead in a measured manner, and blew past Pitt, outscoring them in the fourth 22-4, with a final score of 63-53.
Pitt sits at the bottom of the ACC with only two conference wins, and this game was really a blown opportunity to get another one. The bright note of this game was that Dyaisha Fair‘s 23 points put her ahead of Brittney Griner and into fifth place on the career scoring list. Syracuse didn’t get a lot of production from the rest of the team, with Georgia Woolley scoring 14 and Sophie Burrows 11 off the bench. For Pitt, Liatu King scored 29 points with 10 boards, and Bella Perkins added 10 off the bench.
Stanford gets a Pac-12 win versus Arizona State
After a close first quarter, No. 3 Stanford pulled away from Arizona State and hung on to win 81-67. ASU got as close as seven in the third and nine in the fourth, but Stanford persisted with a real team effort to take the win. ASU’s tenacity was evident; they got outplayed. Stanford had 56 rebounds, ASU 27. However, Stanford turned the ball over twelve times, but ASU only had seven points off of turnovers. Stanford dominated the paint 42-22.
Jalyn Brown led ASU with 18 points, Trayanna Crisp netted 13, and Mallory Miller scored 11. For the Cardinal, Kiki Iriafen led with 22 points and 20 boards, Cameron Brink added 14 points and 9 boards, Jzaniya Harriel 12 points, Hannah Jump 11, and Nuno Agara 11 off the bench.
No. 18 Utah snaps No. 7 USC’s winning streak in a major upset
No. 18 Utah upset No. 7 USC 74-68. In the first quarter, McKenzie Forbes hit a jumper on the first possession for USC. Then no one scored until the 7:23 mark when Alissa Pili hit two free throws. Another minute goes by, and Pili hits a jumper. Another minute goes by, and Pili hits a three. Finally, at 3:49, Juju Watkins makes a layup. Kennedy McQueen responds right away for Utah and makes one of her own. The quarter ends 14-6 in favor of Utah. Not exactly the game the USC fans were anticipating.
The second quarter was more of the same, with USC closing the gap by two points, and going into the half with Utah up 34-28. The third quarter ambled along the same trail, with USC closing the gap to five points. Almost halfway through the fourth, USC got to within two points on a Juju Watkins jumper, but never got any closer, thanks to a basket of Alissa Pili free throws. One would think that with Watkins scoring 30, USC would have easily won the game.
Unfortunately, only Kaitlyn Davis and McKenzie Forbes added double-figure scoring with 13 and 10. The rest of USC shot 7-18. Not quite enough. Utah didn’t fare that much better. In fact, only six points better. Pili ended with 23 points and 9 boards, Kennedy McQueen 14 points, Matyson Wilde 11, and Dasia Young with 13 off the bench.
Unranked Washington shocks No. 9 Oregon State
Washington took down No. 9 Oregon State 61-51. ORST was without leading scorer Reagan Beers. Look at the UConn players out. Nuff said. Oregon State didn’t score until halfway through the first quarter. In fact, a three from Lily Hansford and a jumper from Kelsey Rees were the only buckets the Beavers could muster. They bounced back a bit in the second, outscoring Washington 12-10, but trailing 24-17 at the half.
Washington sided the gap a bit in the third by four points, one of which ORST got back in the fourth, and although the Beavers got as close as seven, Washington managed to fend them off for the win. Oregon State only shot 35.2% going 19-54 while Washington shot 45.66% going 26-57. The Beavers turned the ball over 15 times to Washington’s 7, and the Huskies outscored ORST 32-20 in the paint.
Timea Gardiner led the Beavers with 13 points and 11 boards, Lily Hansford had 11, and Dominika Paurova had 10. For Washington, Elle Ladine scored 23, and Dalayah Daniels scored 15.
Duke gets a massive win over No. 6 NC State at home
A determined Duke team went wire to wire and took down No. 6 NC State 69-58. Duke managed to fend off a couple of NC State surges, particularly in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Devils were not to be denied. What went wrong for the Wolfpack? Sluggish shooting? Lack of focus? Heartburn? Who knows. Perhaps the key was preparedness. Duke just seemed more focused, and by hitting first, managed to knock some of the wind out of NC State. I am becoming a big fan of Kara Lawson.
I think she guides her team accurately and with great strength. You can see it in the desire of the players on the court. Perhaps Kara Lawson will have a WNBA head coaching job in the future. Aziaha James led the Wolfpack with 15, River Baldwin added 14, Saniya Rivers 13, and Zoe Brooks 10 off the bench. For Duke Taina Mair scored 20, with Kennedy Brown and Reagan Richardson each scoring 15.
No. 8 Virginia Tech wins in ACC play over UNC
No. 8 Virginia Tech out-dueled UNC 74-62. If not for Deja Kelly scoring 29 points, it may have been a more lopsided game. Elizabeth Kitley scored 34, Georgia Amoore scored 19, and with Matilda Ekh’s 11 points, they accounted for 64 of VT’s 74 points. Clearly, Kenny Brooks needs more production from the rest of the team. Only Lexi Donarski scored in double figures with 10 alongside Kelly for Duke. Same problem for the Tar Heels.
After the first quarter which saw VT lead 21-5, UNC bounced back, taking the second quarter 22-12. VT took quarters three and four shooting just enough to keep UNC at bay. Twelve points is not a rout, but a decent win for Virginia Tech, who now have a share of the regular-season ACC title.
Virginia makes history in win over No. 20 Louisville
In a back-and-forth game, Virginia became the first unranked opponent to win at the KFC Yum! Center since its opening, by taking down No. 20 Louisville 73-68. This was an evenly matched game, with Virginia shooting 42.2% and Louisville 42.9%, Louisville with 15 turnovers to Virginia’s 14, each team with 18 fouls, and Virginia edging points in the paint 38-32. Louisville’s starters totaled 34 points while Virginia’s starters scored 58. 15 bench points for Virginia and 34 for Louisville.
When the bench matches the starters, well, therein lies the problem. Had Virginia’s starters not shot so well, it may have been a different result.
Kansas takes down No. 10 Kansas State in a close win
And finally, Kansas, in a close game, beat No. 10 Kansas State 58-55. Kansas took the first quarter 19-15, and KSU responded by taking the second 15-9 and leading the half 30 28. Not exactly a barn burner. The duel continued into the third quarter, leaving KSU up one. In the fourth, it looked as though KSU might hold on, but after S’Mya Nichols made a layup at 3:38 to tie the game and then scored another at 2:03, Kansas held on with free throws by Holly Kersgieter to win the game.
Ayoka Lee led the Wildcats with 14 points and 11 boards, with Taryn Sides adding 11 off the bench. For Kansas, S’Mya Nichols scored 22 and Holly Kersgieter scored 10 with 7 boards.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from the world of sports.
