Howdy, folks. Nice to be back in the saddle. Only four NCAAW games on Monday, including a stellar upset, a near upset, a slow start to a good finish game, and another LSU win. Let’s get to it.
The Fighting Illini popped the cork in Champaign by routing No. 14 Indiana 86-66. My favorite part of this game was the camera focusing on Coach Moren mouthing the words “What are you doing?” after a particularly bad foul. That summed it up. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Illinois holding a one-point lead until the 5:17 mark when Harden Garzon hit a three to pull Indiana ahead 11-9. A Garzon layup then upped it to 13-9 at 4:43. Lexus Bargesser added two more with a layup at 3:01.
Then the Illini stepped it up and scored six unanswered points to tie it at 15 each at the 0:39 mark on a Makira Cook layup. Chloe Moore-McNeil fouled her, and Cook made the free throw. Moore-McNeil then made a jumper to put Indiana back up, and then Genesis Bryant made a buzzer-beater layup to pull Illinois ahead 18-17. In the second quarter, the Illini proceeded to hit the gas and outscored Indiana 26-11. The third quarter saw Indiana erase only two points of the Illinois lead leaving a deficit of 14 points.
Illinois took care of business at the charity stripe in the fourth
The fourth quarter saw Indiana never get closer than eight points, and ultimately, Illinois padded their lead from the free throw line with a succession of Indiana fouls, and the game ended with Illinois taking the upset. During a timeout, Coach Moren told her team that their heads were not in the game. Sadly, that pep talk, if that’s what it was, didn’t seem to work. Not exactly a good time for Indiana to have one of those games. For Indiana, Mackenzie Holmes did her part, scoring 24, Yarden Garzon added 17 with 8 boards, and Sara Scalia bagged 10 points.
Three other players scored totaling 15 points, with 2 points off the bench. Illinois only played six, and everyone was in double figures. Makira Cook had 22, Genesis Bryant 15, Adalia McKenzie 14, Kendall Bostic 12 with 11 boards, and Camille Hobby also scored 12. Gretchen Dolan, the lone bench player, scored 11, making it a complete team effort. As lackluster as Indiana appeared was as tight and determined as Illinois looked.
That made this game enjoyable to watch. This just wasn’t Indiana’s day. They don’t need any more like this one. Their record indicates a talented team, and Moren is a terrific coach. Simply put, Illinois wanted it more, and they got it.
UConn defeats Creighton in NCAAW action
No. 21 Creighton came to Hartford for a noon game against No. 15 UConn. Their last meeting saw the Huskies win by 44 on Creighton’s turf. That wasn’t the case in Hartford. Both teams looked sleepy in the first quarter, and while UConn only committed 10 turnovers for the game, six of them were in the first quarter. At 5:11, Lauren Jensen hit a three right after Ashlynn Shade hit one for UConn, and the score was tied at ten. The score didn’t change for three minutes until Nika Mühl hit a three at 2:18.
A minute later, Morgan Mall returned the favor and tied it at 13 each. Then Jensen made a jumper and Aaliyah Edwards made a layup, and the quarter ended at 15 all. In the second, it was more of the same, until Paige Bueckers hit a layup and a free throw to give the Huskies a 31-23 lead. Those were the last points that UConn would score for the quarter. Creighton took advantage of UConn’s ice-cold shooting and managed to tie the game 31-31.
The third quarter started with Creighton scoring the first five points. Then Bueckers made a jumper, and the switch was flipped. UConn went on a 17-0 run until Lauren Jensen made a three, immediately answered by an Ashlynn Shade three. Emma Ronsiek added two more points on a jumper, followed by a three from Bueckers, a three from Mühl, and a free throw from Ice Brady, and the quarter ended with UConn up 58-41.
UConn pulled away in the final quarter vs. Creighton
The fourth quarter saw Creighton get no closer than fifteen points, and UConn extended the lead to twenty, and that’s how it ended. Not only did this game give UConn at least a share of the BIG EAST title, it also gave Coach Auriemma sole possession of second place in most wins with 1203, behind Tara VanDerveer’s 1209. For Creighton, only Morgan Maly and Lauren Jensen were in double figures, with Maly grabbing 16 and Jensen 18. Creighton had one point off the bench.
For UConn, Bueckers scored 24, Edwards 20 with 8 boards, Shade 15 and 9 boards, and Mühl 11 with 7 assists. Even though KK Arnold had a very quiet game, it really is remarkable how much she and Shade have contributed to this team. Being thrown into starting roles is never easy, but each player has made significant contributions. While they may not be the prolific scorers that Hannah Hidalgo and Juju Watkins are, these kids deserve some recognition for what they’ve done. I hope they get it.
Notre Dame gets the win over Duke in ACC play
No. 19 Notre Dame rolled into Durham to take on a very feisty and determined Duke. Even though the score was close at the half, with Duke up 30-27, the game had the look and feel of an upset waiting to happen. But the third quarter was all Notre Dame, outscoring Duke 21-9. Duke committed seven turnovers and was stifled by Notre Dame’s defense. While Duke regained some composure in the fourth and got as close as seven, Notre Dame came up with enough moxie to take the win 70-62.
With as much attention as Hannah Hidalgo receives, and deservedly so, I think both Maddie Westbeld and Sonia Citron are due more credit. I don’t think they get enough looks, they each make timely scores, and they both play with a consistent intensity. They’re both solid contributors to Notre Dame. For the Irish, Hidalgo scored 23, Westbeld 14 with 9 boards, and Citron scored 12. I will say that as impressive as is Hidalgo’s ability to score, her ability to steal is really fun to watch.
She is just terrific, probably much to the dismay of Notre Dame’s opponents. For Duke, everyone who played scored, with Reigan Richardson leading the Blue Devils with 23, Taina Mair with 12, and Jadyn Donovan with 10 points and 8 boards. It was a tough loss for Duke, and I’m sure the third-quarter film will get some very close scrutiny.
LSU takes care of Texas A&M led by Johnson and Morrow
Finally, No. 13 LSU commanded the first half over Texas A&M and held on in the second half, basically trading baskets with Texas A&M. The Aggies never made any significant dent in the LSU lead. For LSU, Aneesah Morrow scored 25 with 15 boards, Flau’jae Johnson had 20 with 9 boards, Angel Reese contributed 13 points and 10 boards, and Hailey Van Lith had 10 points. For the Aggies, Janiah Barker scored 21 with 9 boards, Aicha Coulibaly 16 points, and Sahara Jones scored 10.
There was, of course, the requisite drama when Angel Reese squared off with Maliyah Johnson after a foul on Angel Reese. Gotta love LSU, either for Kim Mulkey’s outfit du jour or the on-court antics. LSU is currently in second place in the SEC with Tennessee only a half game behind them. Unless South Carolina implodes over the next few games, the regular season conference title will be theirs. Is anyone going to find the chink in the armor of the Gamecocks?
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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