Category: NCAA Women’s Basketball

What should we expect in the USC-Notre Dame women’s basketball blockbuster?

USC fans naturally expect the Trojans will win at home versus Notre Dame on Saturday. What does a Notre Dame writer think will happen? We asked one.

On Saturday afternoon, USC women’s basketball will battle Notre Dame in an early season top-five showdown. The Trojans are No. 3. The Fighting Irish are No. 5. It doesn’t get much better or bigger than this for a November basketball game.

Earlier this week, Geoffrey Clark of Fighting Irish Wire shared his prediction for the matchup.

“The Irish will be in a better position if they can get back Liatu King, who missed the last game after leaving the previous game with a head injury,” Clark wrote.

“Regardless, they still will have fewer available bodies than the Trojans, and that won’t play well against a fellow national championship contender. Playing in what should be a tough atmosphere on the road in this situation also could prove challenging.

“USC 77, Notre Dame 65.”

Tipoff between No. 3 USC and No. 5 Notre Dame is set for 1 p.m. in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon at the Galen Center. The game is on NBC and is part of a USC doubleheader on Saturday. The football team plays on NBC at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time against UCLA.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Fighting Irish Wire shares X-factor for USC-Notre Dame showdown

USC women’s basketball has to know where Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles is on the floor at all times during Saturday’s huge game in the Galen Center.

On Saturday, USC women’s basketball meets Notre Dame in an early-season top-10 showdown.

Heading into the matchup, Geoffrey Clark of Fighting Irish Wire gave his thoughts on a player who could be a potential X-factor for Notre Dame.

“After missing all of last season, Olivia Miles has wasted no time reminding everyone she still is around,” Clark said. “She recorded a triple-double in her first game back, and she’s a threat to do that whenever she steps on the court.

”Once the Irish’s best player, the early returns on how well she meshes with (Hannah) Hidalgo are extremely promising.”

If the Trojans want to prevail, containing Miles will be essential.

Tipoff between USC and Notre Dame is set for just after 1 p.m. local time in Los Angeles in the Galen Center on Saturday. The game will be televised by NBC and will stream on Peacock. Notre Dame plays football on NBC at 4 p.m. Pacific time later on Saturday. USC and UCLA play football at 7:30 Pacific that night, also on NBC.

Check out our podcast on USC women’s basketball and the big clash versus Notre Dame:

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Paige Bueckers and UConn wore perfect blonde wigs to honor coach Chris Dailey

“She said we ate.”

On Wednesday night, plenty of shenanigans were happening to honor Uconn coach Geno Auriemma for his new all-time wins record, including a literal goat. But Paige Bueckers and the team wearing blonde wigs to celebrate Geno’s long-time coaching partner, Chris Dailey, might be the best of the night.

Geno doesn’t reach the top of college basketball’s wins list without receiving help along the way. Someone was there to support him and help UConn become the powerhouse it is. That person is coach Chris Dailey, who has been by Geno’s side for 40 years. YES. FORTY YEARS.

That kind of tenure is invaluable. So, to make sure that Dailey also felt love on such a massive night for the program, Paige Bueckers and UConn wore blonde wigs to a postgame press conference and in the locker room. Of course, as you might suspect, it was Paige’s idea. BRILLIANT.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCnnijhM4BN/?igsh=MXh6Zml4NzVmbXlsbQ==

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UConn honored Geno Auriemma becoming NCAA basketball’s all-time winningest coach with a literal goat

Goat meets goat.

With a UConn women’s basketball home win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night, Geno Auriemma became the NCAA’s all-time winningest basketball coach.

It’s a remarkable achievement for the basketball coaching great who now has a startling 1,217 wins on his record that eclipses any other NCAA basketball coach.

After the game, UConn honored its “goat” by bringing out an actual goat to commemorate such a special moment for Auriemma and the school.

Auriemma seemed delighted to see the goat on his historic night, as this is a pretty cool gesture from UConn to enshrine its “goat” after so many years of excellence.

As for the actual goat, we hope he gots lots of love and some lettuce to eat.

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Notre Dame starting five will be a handful for USC women’s basketball

Ahead of the USC Trojans top-5 matchup versus Notre Dame this weekend, find out what makes their opponent so lethal. The Irish have high-end talent.

The No. 3 USC women’s basketball team will go toe-to-toe with the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend. Tip from Galen Center is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern time, 1 p.m. Pacific on NBC Sports. The two teams’ top-five rankings were announced earlier this week in the USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll. Days before the big battle, Geoffrey Clark of Fighting Irish Wire spoke to the strengths that got the Fighting Irish to the No. 5 spot.

“The talent the Irish have speaks for itself. Look at the roster, and you’ll have two All-Americans, a freshman phenom in the making, high-producing veterans and younger players who are just itching to make a big impact once given quality minutes. Any rotational player can deliver perhaps the best performance of their collegiate career during any game, and you just have to guess who that’s going to be.”

Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles, Kate Koval, and the rest of the Irish starters have elite talent. Notre Dame has a starting five every bit as good as USC’s. The Trojans, however, have greater depth due to the Irish’s injuries, which we will discuss more in the coming days.

The Trojans, who already have a top-20 win under their belt, will have a tough match on their hands this weekend. It will be the first true test to see if head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has her team poised to make another deep run after a Pac-12 Tournament championship last season. This duel on Saturday is certainly the biggest game in women’s college basketball so far this season.

Check out our podcast with Irish Wire on Saturday’s game:

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Notre Dame writer evaluates Irish star Hannah Hidalgo before USC showdown

Containing Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo will we a top priority for the USC women’s basketball team in its top-5 matchup against the Irish.

The No. 3 USC women’s basketball team has a big matchup this weekend against the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Tipoff on Saturday from Galen Center is scheduled for just after 4 p.m. Eastern time. Rankings are courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll. Ahead of the matchup, Geoffrey Clark of FightingIrishWire spoke about the strength of the Notre Dame team, guard Hannah Hidalgo, who is averaging 25 points per game, ranking fourth in the country.

“Hannah Hidalgo is a scoring and steals machine, and she has proved that constantly during her collegiate career. On top of that, she has the confidence required to be an elite college basketball player, and there is no challenge she won’t take on. She quite simply would be the best player on almost every team in the country,” Clark told us.

Hidalgo, a sophomore, will be one of the top priorities for the Trojans to deal with if they want to come out victorious in the biggest game of their young season. She is one of the many pieces that will make Saturday’s game a must-watch.

Check out our new podcast with Geoffrey Clark on USC-Notre Dame, the first really big women’s basketball game of the season:

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, Ducks Wire, UW Huskies Wire and UCLA Wire.

Hailey Van Lith cried after her breakout performance in TCU’s upset win

Grab the tissues for this one.

Hailey Van Lith’s transfer to TCU is already paying early dividends. The former LSU guard helped the Horned Frogs upset NC State on Sunday, and afterward, she cried happy tears.

Let’s just say the thing: HVL’s time at LSU was really rough to watch. She seemingly spent much of her season playing in a system that didn’t suit her, and it wasn’t surprising that she transferred earlier this year. The question remained if Van Lith would also fit with TCU. However, it seems that she’s catching her stride now.

Hailey and teammate Sedona Prince went to work against The Pack. Prince had 31 points and 16 rebounds, and Van Lith had an excellent 12-point second half that pushed her to 18 points and 10 assists for the day. Afterward, HVL cried when she realized she had her first-ever double-double. In a tender moment, she was immediately embraced by head coach Mark Campbell, who said, “The playmaker. She’s been unleashed. Good job. You’re just getting started, kiddo.”

@bleacherreport

HVL felt the emotions after recording her first double-double in assists 🥲 (via tcuwbb/X) #basketball #collegebasketball #tcu #wnba

♬ original sound – bleacherreport

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HVL’s fantastic day on the court even got an endorsement from her former LSU teammate, Angel Reese. You love to see it.

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WNBA fans made Paige Bueckers jokes after the Wings won the draft lottery

Paige Bueckers might land with the Dallas Wings, and the jokes are flying.

The Dallas Wings won the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery, and the Paige Bueckers jokes are splendid.

Sunday’s selection process to determine the first four picks of next year’s draft was a doozy. Let’s start with the unexciting stuff. As expected, Washington’s failed tank job seemingly kept the team out of the Bueckers sweepstakes at pick No. 4 (sorry, Mystics fans), and Chicago managed to avoid the awkwardness of potentially swapping picks with Dallas by landing at No. 3. Then, it got a little spicy.

The Sparks, who many thought would walk away with the first pick, landed at No. 2. That cleared a path for the Dallas Wings to land at the top of the draft. In a wild twist of events, former Sparks coach Curt Miller, now the Wings’ general manager, will be part of the team potentially selecting Paige Bueckers next spring. WILD TIMES.

As you can see, Miller and Wings star Arike Ogunbowale were thrilled. But, of course, the jokes started flying after that.

Honestly, these are truly tremendous.

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Geno Auriemma, Courtney Banghart explain what makes UConn’s Paige Bueckers great

“I think she’s the most difficult player to guard in America,” Geno Auriemma said.

Paige Bueckers caught the inbounds pass and began sprinting up the left side of the court, with North Carolina’s Grace Townsend draped all over her like a blanket. The clock was winding down in the first quarter and Bueckers, UConn’s star guard, wanted to see if she could get one more shot up.

She stopped right in front of Tar Heels’ coach Courtney Banghart, pumped, jumped and fired over Townsend. It was an awkward-looking attempt, as the senior was leaning to her left, but there was nothing ugly about how the ball sailed through the air.

Buzzer. Swish.

Bueckers watched the ball fall through the hoop, then turned towards the North Carolina bench as her confident walk morphed into a jubilant skip.

It was one of the many highlight-worthy plays Bueckers had on Friday night in front of an announced crowd of 10,467 fans at the historic Greensboro Coliseum, where the No. 2 Huskies beat the No. 14 Tar Heels 69-58.

Bueckers led all scorers with a season-high 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals – and zero turnovers – in 37 minutes of action. It was the first road game of the season for UConn and a memorable performance by the two-time consensus All-American in what is presumed to be by many her final year in college basketball.

“Paige is really special,” Banghart said after the game. “We’ve got an opportunity to watch a generational player for a couple more games before she goes on to the pros. She’s an exceptional player. She’s unselfish. We focus our defense on her. I think she doesn’t push, she doesn’t force, she has teammates she trusts and utilizes them well.”

When asked about Banghart’s “generational” label regarding Bueckers, UConn coach Geno Auriemma responded in a way that only he could.

“Well, I’ve been around a lot of generations, so I’ve had a lot of generational players, that people described as generational,” Auriemma said with a smile on the night that one of his former stars, Sue Bird, would be announced to the Basketball Hall of Fame. In the victory over UNC, Auriemma also tied Tara VanDerveer for college basketball’s all-time wins record.

“I guess this is true,” the 70-year-old Auriemma continued. “So, what makes them that? The ability to perform at an incredibly high level, and an even higher level than you expect. And you already expect the most, and yet, (Bueckers) gives you even more than that. And I think that’s probably the best description I can give you, is that she never fails to live up to your expectations of her, and then even goes above that. Some people are just born with that gift, and she has the gift. Some people squander those gifts. Every day, she works really hard to polish those gifts.”

By using freshman Sarah Strong as a moving human shield at times to knock down 3-pointers off her screens, driving towards the rim with precision and certainty, and dishing neck-breaking assists to Huskies’ shooters like Kaitlyn Chen, this outing from Bueckers was one where she reminded everyone that she is still one of the best players – if not the best – in college basketball.

While Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese got all the attention last season, and many pointing to USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo as the sport’s rising stars, it’s worth remembering that Bueckers was the National Player of the Year as a freshman, before a knee injury forced her to miss a season-and-a-half of action. Last season, over 38 games, Bueckers ranked fifth nationally in PER (40.1), second in win shares (8.9) and 10th in scoring (22.2) as she powered the Huskies to a Big East title and a Final Four berth.

“I really do believe that, unless you foul her every time, that’s the only way you’re going to stop her from doing what she wants to do. That’s it,” Auriemma said of Bueckers. “I think she’s the most difficult player to guard in America. There may be nights like tonight where she’s going to have to be.”

This season for the Huskies feels like championship-or-bust. With Bueckers leading the way and a stellar supporting cast around her, it feels incredibly likely that we’ll see UConn playing at the Final Four in Tampa in April.

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JuJu Watkins makes NIL history shortly before making USC history

JuJu Watkins’ scored her 1000th career point at USC shortly after making NIL history and developing her robust national brand.

In the season following Caitlin Clark’s departure from women’s college hoops, JuJu Watkins of USC women’s basketball is the next big thing. The sophomore finished second in scoring behind Clark last season as a freshman. JuJu has picked up right where she left off this year, averaging 21.3 points per game to start the season.

On Friday, behind a 22-point performance in an 81-50 throttling of Santa Clara, Watkins became the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 career points in Division I history, passing none other than Clark. She also made USC history by becoming the fastest Trojan to reach 1,000. It took her only 38 games.

Off the court, JuJu is making history with her NIL deals. Watkins has inked a deal with Gatorade and a multiyear extension with Nike, but she also became the first student-athlete to sign a deal with Funko Pop! collectibles. On top of that, it was recently announced that she would star in and executive produce her own show on NBC and Peacock.

We are still in the early stages of Watkins’ career. She is already turning heads night in and night out and etching her name in the record books. The 1,000-point mark is just the beginning of what we will see from her this season, as it becomes clearer that USC has one of the top players in women’s basketball, and maybe the best of them all.

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