Friday gave us seven NCAAW games, including a couple of upsets, a status reveal, a business-as-usual game, and a few fourth-quarter comeback attempts.
First, it was Senior Night for the No. 15 UConn Huskies, welcoming the Georgetown Hoyas to Gampel. As you probably know by now, both Paige Bueckers and Aubrey Griffin will be returning to Storrs next year. Nika Mühl and Aaliyah Edwards have yet to make a decision. This one is hard to read, so I’ll leave the prognosticating to my fellow wizards.
Georgetown took an early 5-2 lead and held it for two minutes until KK Arnold hit one of two free throws, followed by a jumper by Bueckers. From there the Huskies built a 14-5 lead when Graceann Bennett hit a jumper for the Hoyas. Georgetown didn’t score again until the 1:47 mark when Victoria Rivera made a layup. That was it for Georgetown, ending the quarter behind 27-9. The second quarter was slower placed, and UConn outscored Georgetown 19-11, widening the gap to 46-20.
UConn warmed up in the second half
Shooting went a little cold for the Huskies in the third. Georgetown one point had cut the deficit to 18, but then UConn, thanks to Aaliyah Edwards, picked up some steam. They ended the quarter 15-14 to the Hoyas. Then UConn turned on the jets, outscoring Georgetown 25-9 in the fourth, taking the game 85-44. Despite the score, Georgetown played a tough, physical game. They went 16-51 shooting, while UConn went 33-67.
Georgetown had 22 turnovers to UConn’s 11, UConn dominated the paint outscoring the Hoyas 38-10, and Georgetown committed 21 fouls to 11 for the Huskies. Victoria Rivera led Georgetown with 16 points. No one else scored in double figures. For UConn, Aaliyah Edwards scored 26 points with 16 boards, Bueckers had 21 with 8 assists, and Ice Brady scored 10 plus 5 rebounds off the bench. The UConn bench needs to step up more. Qadence Samuels always seems to come in and hit a three.
She needs to do more of that. Ice Brady continues to improve. Ines Bettencourt, a bit of a fan favorite, has the ability to score more and needs to perhaps slow down just a bit to take better shots. UConn’s next game is at home with Creighton. Georgetown welcomes St. John’s, looking to bounce back from this game.
Creighton takes care of St. John’s in NCAAW action
No. 20 Creighton visited St. John’s and won 71-51. Creighton took the game wire to wire, jumping out to a 36-23 lead at the half. St. John’s cut the lead to eight at the 7:44 mark on a Jillian Archer layup, but that was as close as they’d get. Then Creighton outscored St. John’s 17-8 in the fourth and took home the win. Morgan Maly and Morgan Jensen each dropped 20 for Creighton, with Emma Ronsiek adding 14. For the Red Storm, Ber’Nyah Mayo scored 16 and Jillian Archer scored 11 with 6 boards.
Creighton sits two games behind UConn, making Monday’s matchup a crucial game if they have hopes of overtaking the Huskies for the conference title. Considering it is a home game for UConn, it may very well be an uphill climb.
Princeton picks up win in IVY LEAGUE play over Brown
No. 25 Princeton duked it out with Brown, eventually winning 74-62. The first half went back and forth, with Princeton taking the first quarter and Brown the second, ending at 32-29 in Princeton’s favor. The third quarter was another close one, with Brown taking a six-point lead on a Grace Arnolie 3-pointer. Brown then extended the lead to 47-40 on another Grace Arnolie 3-pointer. Then Princeton tied the game at 49 each on an Ashley Chea three and then squeaked to the end of the quarter to a 55-54 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Brown never got closer than 5 points, and Princeton had enough gas in the tank to take the win. Leading scorers for Princeton were Kaitlyn Chen with 17 points and 10 boards, and Chet Nweke with 11 points and 9 boards. Princeton sits atop the IVY LEAGUE with five games remaining. Assuming they continue winning they should stay in the Top 25.
Utah shocks No. 8 Colorado in a close matchup
No. 22 Utah upset No. 8 Colorado 77-76. The Utes led by 15 at the half, 39-24. In the third, Colorado began to creep back into the game, coming as close as seven points at the 1:21 mark on a Jaylyn Sherrod jumper. But Utah responded with a pair of free throws by Ines Vieira and a three by Kennedy McQueen, and after the third led 62-50.
Colorado began to slowly crawl back, and two free throws and a layup by Frida Formann gave Colorado the 1-point lead at 0:19, but then a critical foul by Kindly Wetta gave Ines Vieira 2 more free throws and Utah went up 75-74. With eight seconds left, Aaronette Vonleh made a layup for Colorado, but five seconds later Dasia Young hit the buzzer-beater, and the Utes walked away with the win. Frida Formann and Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado with 15 points each.
Sherrod also bagged 9 assists. Aaronette Vonleh scored 14 with 6 boards. For Utah, Alissa Pili grabbed 18 points and 6 boards, Ines Vieira 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Jenna Johnson scored 14. Off the bench, Dasia Young scored 13.
Stanford wins over Cal in Pac-12 play
No. 3 Stanford plowed Cal under by a score of 84-49. The Cardinal led all the way, with Kiki Iriafen scoring 23 with 11 boards, Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump each scoring 14, and Elena Bosgana getting 12 off the bench. For Cal, Ugonne Onyiah scored 12, and Emery Martin 11. To give the blow-by-blow description would only be pouring salt on the open wound, so in deference to Cal, I won’t.
Oregon State wins in the final seconds over UCLA
No. 11 Oregon State won the nail-biter with No. 9 UCLA 79-77. The first quarter started off very slowly. Charisma Osborne hit a jumper for UCLA at the 9:13 mark, and then no one scored until 6:33 when Raegan Beers made a couple of free throws for ORST. The rest of the quarter was equally unproductive and ended with Oregon State up 12-11. The second quarter was more of the same, with UCLA up two at the half. No one seemed to be able to make a significant push, and the third quarter ended tied 58-58.
With Oregon State in a bit of a lull, UCLA opened their lead to 69-63 with five minutes to go. Tied at 72 each, Time Gardiner made two free throws for ORST—time out UCLA. At 0:08, Angela Dugalic nails a three, giving UCLA a 75-74 lead. At 0:02, Talia von Oelhoffen makes a layup. UCLA timeout. At 0:01, Lauren Betts hits a jumper, and it’s 77-76 UCLA. With one second on the clock, Oregon State calls a time-out.
At the buzzer, Talia von Oelhoffen throws up a three, and Oregon State takes the win. For UCLA, Lauren Betts scored 24 with 7 boards, Charisma Osborne 13 with 5 bards, Kiki Rice added 11 points, and Angela Dugalic had 10. For Oregon State, Talia von Oelhoffem scored 22, and off the bench, Time Gardiner scored 21 and Dominika Paurova 12.
USC gets the W over Oregon thanks to Juju Watkins
And finally, No. 10 USC made easy work of Oregon, 88-51. Freshman Juju Watkins scored 33, McKenzie Forbes scored 12, and Kaitlyn Davis 10 with 11 boards. While only scoring four, Rayah Marshall also grabbed a team-high 12 boards. For Oregon, Chance Gray had 12 points, Grace VanSlooten 11, and Phillipina Kyei 10 with 18 boards. It wasn’t that long ago that Oregon was a formidable team. But times do change, and perhaps one day they’ll get back to their Ionescu-style days. As much as I hate to stoop to cliché, hope does spring eternal, even if it’s a frosty Spring.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
Follow Beyond Women’s Sports for more from the world of sports.
