We’re coming down to the wire, folks. Ten NCAAW games last night, and the coffee is getting cold, so let’s go.
No. 17 Notre Dame picks up the win over fifth-ranked Virginia Tech
No. 5 Virginia Tech made the trek to South Bend to face No. 17 Notre Dame with high expectations, but the Fighting Irish put on the gloves and put up a good one. Hokies coach Kenny Brooks was hoping that the rest of the team would remember that old Duke Ellington classic, “Take the A-Moore Train,” but it was drowned out by Notre Dame’s version of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”
It was a rare slow night for Liz Kitley. Notre Dame’s defense kept her fairly well in check, and while Georgia Amoore led the Hokies with 20 points, they were not easy to come by. Amoore, Kitley, and Matilda Ekh combined for 44 of VT’s 58 points. Again, credit Notre Dame’s defense, Hannah Hidalgo‘s 23 points and 12 boards, Maddie Westfield’s 19 points and 10 boards, and Sonia Citron’s 21 points. It might as well have been a game of 3X3.
The Hokies just couldn’t establish themselves, accruing 17 fouls to ND’s 10, got out-rebounded 43-29, and although the Hokies shot 8-20 from three, only shot 36.8% overall to Notre Dame’s 45.2%. It is a personal conundrum that I would lean toward for rookie honors, but I’m beginning to move into the Hidalgo camp. She simply just doesn’t stop, whether it is scoring, passing, assisting, or stealing. Along with the steadiness of Maddie Westbeld and the drive of Sonia Citron, they make a powerful trio.
It was their night, plain and simple. When it is the Kitley-Amoore show, it is a glorious thing. It just wasn’t to be. Virginia Tech concludes the regular season Sunday on the road at Virginia, and Notre Dame welcomes Louisville on Sunday as well. That should be a good one. Notre Dame ended up with a 71-58 win.
No. 12 NC State gets the OT win over Syracuse in NCAAW play
It took No. 12 NC State an extra five minutes of overtime to finally put the lid on a 75-71 win over No. 19 Syracuse. While NC State had a 38-35 lead at halftime, the Orange crept back in a couple of times with a six-point lead in the third, but the Wolfpack prowled back and ended the quarter up 54-52. In the fourth, Syracuse managed to pull ahead 60-56 at the 6:19 mark, but then their shooting went stagnant until Georgia Woolley hit a jumper, making it a 62-59 lead.
Saniya Rivers then tied the game on a three-pointer, 64-64, followed by a River Baldwin layup which put NC State up by two. Then a costly foul on Aziaha James with 0:01 on the clock gave Alyssa Latham two free throws, which she made, and the game went into overtime. No one scored for the first three minutes until Zoe Brooks hit two free throws for the Wolfpack. Sophie Burrows immediately followed with a three, and Syracuse was up by one.
Aziaha James then atoned for her fourth-quarter foul with a layup, putting NC State up by one again, and that was all it took, with Madison Hayes and Saniya Rivers adding five more points as icing. For Syracuse, Dyaisha Fair scored 26, with Georgia Woolley and Isabel Varejao each scoring 14. Saniya Rivers led the Wolfpack with 22 points and 8 boards, followed by Mimi Collins with 15 and River Baldwin scoring a double-double of 13 points and 13 boards.
This was the last regular season game for Syracuse, and NC State will welcome Wake Forest on Sunday for their season finale.
No. 7 USC survives over Arizona in PAC-12 action
It took double overtime for No. 7 USC to tame the Arizona Wildcats by a score of 95-93. Arizona led by two points at the half, but by the end of the third quarter had increased their lead to seven, with Juju Watkins picking up two more fouls to add to the two she had made in the first half. Arizona increased their lead to ten in the fourth, but USC started to come back and had cut the lead to five when JuJu Watkins fouled out with 1:41 left in the game.
Kaitlyn Davis made three successive layups for USC against free throws from Helena Pueyo and and Esmery Martinez for Arizona, bringing the Arizona lead to three. With seven seconds left, Kayla Padilla hit a three for USC. Overtime. The first overtime went back and forth, ending at 85 all. Second overtime. With a minute left, USC had a five-point lead, but free throws from Courtney Blake and Helena Pueyo brought Arizona within one, but with four seconds left, Rayah Marshall made one of two free throws, sealing the victory for USC.
For USC, Rayah Marshall led with 26 points and 11 boards, Juju Watkins had 20 points and 8 boards, Kaitlyn Davis had 16 points and 9 boards, and Kayla Padilla had 15 points. Helena Pueyo led the Wildcats with 21 points and 9 boards, Skylar Jones scored 19 points, and Jada Williams 14 points. Off the bench, Isis Ben scored 16 and Courtney Blakely scored 11. USC travels to face Arizona State for their final regular season game, and Arizona welcomes UCLA for theirs.
No. 18 Utah gets the W over Washington State at home
Washington State traveled to Salt Lake City to face No. 18 Utah in this NCAAW game. From the start, Utah took the lead and ended the first quarter up fifteen, leading 25-10. The second quarter saw WSU cut the deficit to 11 by the half. Utah then decided to step on the gas and opened their lead to 66-44. Washington State valiantly fought back in the fourth, but couldn’t quite climb the mountain, and Utah took the game 82-67.
For the Cougars, Bella Murekatete led with 14 points, Kyra Gardner scored 13 off the bench, and Tara Wallack scored 11. Kennedy McQueen tied her season high with 22 points for Utah, followed by Alissa Pili with 21 points and 12 boards, Ines Vieira with 13, and Dasia Young with 10 off the bench.
No. 22 Louisville gets the victory over Florida State in ACC play
Florida State came up to meet No. 22 Louisville, and after some jockeying in the first quarter, Louisville took control of the game, winning 70-55. In the second quarter, FSU tied the game at 24 all on a Taniya Larson jumper. Kiki Jefferson answered immediately with a jumper of her own, and Louisville went on a 12-0 run until Makayla Timpson hit a jumper for FSU, but the damage was done. Louisville added five more points to their lead in the third, and although FSU managed to win the fourth quarter 18-11 it just wasn’t enough in this NCAAW ACC game.
Sydney Taylor led the charge during the Louisville run, where she scored 10 of her 16 points. Taniya Larson led the Seminoles with 18 points, Makayla Timpson added 17 points and 11 boards, and O’Mariah Gordon scored 11. Only 2 bench points added to FSU’s woes. For Louisville, Sydney Taylor and Olivia Cochran each scored 16, with Cochran adding 11 boards. Kiki Jefferson added 12. FSU welcomes Clemson for their final game of the regular season, and Louisville travels to South Bend for a tough match-up with Notre Dame.
No. 1 South Carolina rolls over Arkansas by 27
Although the first quarter started out close, No. 1 South Carolina quickly made easy work of Arkansas, winning 98-61. As I watched this game, I kept thinking, “Why can’t someone beat them?” To be sure, they are a top-notch team – in the SEC. I do wonder if they can put the same hurt on teams like Ohio State, USC, Iowa, or UCLA. LSU came close, and the way I saw it, LSU lost that NCAAW game more than South Carolina won it. In this game though, the Razorbacks shot poorly, going 21-63 for 33.3%, while South Carolina went 40-66 to make it 60.6%.
The Gamecocks overwhelmed Arkansas on the boards, out-rebounding them 53-21. Neither team scored any points off of turnovers, of which Arkansas had 11 and South Carolina 14. Both teams hit eight 3s, but it took 41 attempts for the Razorbacks and 19 for the Gamecocks. South Carolina had five players in double figures, but only two starters. Arkansas had four in doubles, all starters, and only six points off the bench from one player.
Just a casual 17 for @milaysiaf tonight … no reaction 🥶 pic.twitter.com/KnH7oHcLzC
— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) March 1, 2024
The lone starter in single digits was Saylor Poffenbarger, who averages 10.3, but scored only four points and went 0-4 from deep. From what I’ve seen, I don’t think UConn lost much when she transferred out, but hey, you do what you gotta do, so good luck with that. As good as Te-Hina Paopao can be, I think she lacks some consistency, which is something she’ll need to focus on to be successful at the next level beyond NCAAW. South Carolina has Tennessee coming in for their final game, and Arkansas travels to Ole Miss for theirs.
No. 8 UCLA and No. 9 LSU cruise to wins in their respective conference matchups
No. 8 UCLA took on Arizona State, beating them 70-41. Here was another example of a back and forth first quarter, and then UCLA outscored ASU 53-28 for the rest of the NCAAW game. Must be all that desert heat. For UCLA Lauren Betts had a double-double of 20-11, Kiki Rice scored 14 and London Jones 11. Jalyn Brown and Trayanna Crisp each played the full 40 minutes for ASU, with Brown scoring 14 and Crisp 13. It doesn’t get any easier for ASU, as USC comes to town for their final game. UCLA heads to play Arizona for theirs.
No. 9 LSU rolled into Athens to face Georgia and promptly put a hurt on them, winning 80-54. Even though LSU had a brief lull in the third quarter, the Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of it. LSU then shook it off and finished the game with a fourth quarter of 20-9. All the LSU starters scored in double digits, but they had only four bench points. If starters get injured, they’ve got a problem. Georgia had only two starters in doubles, also a problem.
You have to wonder what LSU is going to be like when Reese, Morrow, and Van Lith depart. Who will come in to help out Flau’jae Johnson? Hope Coach Milky has some tricks up some big sleeves.
No. 13 Colorado ends four-game losing streak with a victory over Washington
No. 13 Colorado finally put a stop to their slide into Skidville by beating Washington 68-62. Even though the Huskies had a very early five-point lead, things got interesting as they crept to a five-point deficit late in the fourth, but free throws by Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Forman took care of that, and Colorado held on for a much-needed win.
For Washington, four starters had doubles, but they got precisely zero from the bench. Colorado had three starters in doubles and thankfully got a little support from their bench, which contributed 15 points. Washington travels to Utah for their last game, and Colorado will host Washington State for their NCAAW season finale.
Stanford defeated Oregon State in a Top-15 showdown
And finally, No. 4 Stanford had their hands full with No. 11 Oregon State. However, it took Cameron Brink‘s 25 points and 23 rebounds and Kiki Iriafen’s 14 points to get the win. Oregon State was in the same boat, with Talia Von Oelhoffen scoring 27 and Time Gardiner scoring 15. So this game was something of a battle of the benches. Another close call for Stanford, and a tough loss for the Beavers. Stanford goes to Oregon for their final game, and Cal comes to Oregon State for their last NCAAW match-up of the season.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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