Another quiet Top 25 day in NCAAW yesterday, so let’s get to it.
No. 24 West Virginia rolled into Fort Worth to face the TCU Horned Frogs and promptly drained the pond after a somewhat slow start. It took TCU almost four minutes to get in the scoring column, and West Virginia only scored seven points until Agnes Emma-Nnopu hit a Horned Frogs jumper, at which point it was 7-2. During that period, there were nine total turnovers. TCU didn’t score again for another two and a half minutes when Tara Manumaleuga hit a three.
The quarter slogged along with WVU adding a few buckets, and the quarter ended 15-14 in favor of WVU. The second and third quarters saw the Mountaineers all but sink TCU by outscoring them 45-18. The fourth quarter saw TCU outscore WVU by three 20-17, but certainly not enough to overcome WVU’s improved shooting. Jordan Harrison led the way for the Mountaineers with 19 points, followed by JJ Quinerly with 15, Kyah Watson with 13, and Jayla Hemingway tolled the bell off the bench with 12.
For TCU, Agnes Emma-Nnopu scored 18 and Sydney Harris 12 off the bench. There were 34 total turnovers in the game, and WVU scored 50 in the paint compared to 18 for TCU. WVU had sixteen steals. TCU had no answer for the WVU defense, and have now lost five straight and eleven of their last twelve. WVU has won eight of their last nine.
Rutgers defeats Minnesota in BIG 10 NCAAW action
The only other game of mild interest was Minnesota versus Rutgers. Minnesota started the season like a house afire, although their competition was not exactly stellar. Their first loss came at the hands of UConn and went 11-1 before losing to Iowa. To date, the Gophers have gone 4-9 in conference play. Losing Mara Braun to injury certainly hasn’t helped any, but last night’s game showed a Minnesota team who, after the first quarter, just went cold, allowing Rutgers to eventually tie the game 27-27 at the half.
The teams essentially switched scores, with Minnesota taking the first quarter 18-8, and Rutgers the second, 19-9. The third quarter was close, 25-21 to Rutgers, and while the shooting in the fourth improved, with Grace Grocholski’s 3-pointer bringing the Gophers within two, the shooting of Destiny Adams and Mya Petticord eventually widened the gap and sealed the win for Rutgers.
What looked like a very promising start to the season for Minnesota has turned into a real conundrum, and at this point, while NCAA tournament chances look bleak, you just never know. As for Rutgers, this was only their second conference win. Perhaps the battle cry of the old Brooklyn Dodgers is appropriate here: “Wait’ll next year.” The BIG 10 is a tough conference, and as we saw with Nebraska’s stunner of a win over Iowa, anything can happen. As a side note, Nebraska plays Ohio State tonight.
OSU is the current No. 2 ranked team, and for the past five weeks, no one has kept the No. 2 spot for consecutive weeks since UCLA’s run from week three to week eleven. Will OSU have the same fate? There are some good games tonight, so if you can, enjoy.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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