Many WNBA players urged college players with remaining eligibility to stay in school, reminding them that there are only 144 roster spots in the WNBA.
The 2023 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, Apr. 10. It will be televised on ESPN from 7 to 9 p.m. EDT and be available on the ESPN app.
While notable players like South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Stanford’s Haley Jones have opted-in to the draft, other well-known players have withdrawn their declaration.
If a player has remaining NCAA eligibility then they must opt-in to the WNBA draft. Players who have exhausted their eligibility are not required, but are encouraged, to “notify the WNBA of their intent to be eligible for the Draft and may therefore be included in this list.” Eligible international players (as that term is defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement) are not required to opt-in order to be selected.
The NCAA issued a memo on Mar. 7, 2023, to senior compliance administrators and women’s basketball head coaches related to information regarding agents, tryouts, and the 2023 Women’s National Basketball Association draft. It laid out the key points to remember about renouncing NCAA eligibility and opting into the draft along with rescinding prior opt-ins.
Many WNBA players urged college players with remaining eligibility to stay in school, reminding them that there are only 144 roster spots in the WNBA. It seems like some players recognized this and coupled with their ability to monetize in college, decided to use their remaining eligibility and COVID years. Many thought NIL would ruin college athletics, but it turns out athletes are opting to stay in school longer to monetize their NIL in school.
Here are the latest round of players to rescind their declarations and use their remaining collegiate eligibility.
The Indiana Fever received the first pick in the 2023 WNBA draft which is where Boston’s former teammate Destanni Henderson currently plays.
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston is forgoing her COVID year of college eligibility to enter the 2023 WNBA draft. The draft takes place on April 10 and is televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EST and available on the ESPN app.
The Gamecocks lost to Iowa in the Women’s Final Four on March 31 which was their first loss in over a year. While it was a devastating blow, the team picked themselves up and made tough decisions. Boston decided to enter the WNBA draft and officially announced it on April 1 via Twitter, less than 24 hours after the loss.
“I’m going to tell her to go,” Staley said in the news conference after the Gamecocks’ loss to Iowa. “There are defenses that are played against her that won’t allow her to play her game, and then it’s hard to officiate that. … She’s great. She’s ready. She’s ready to see single coverage. She’s ready to make the next step to the league.”
I love you @aa_boston. Go be greater! Can wait to see your dream realized!!!!
The WNBA held its 22nd annual draft lottery on Nov. 11 to determine the order. The Indiana Fever received the first pick which is where Boston’s former teammate Destanni Henderson currently plays. Henderson was drafted with the No. 20 overall selection in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.
“She is exactly what the Fever needs,” Staley told USA TODAY. “Whatever challenges that the Fever have had in the past, there are things with Aliyah they will never have to worry about. Like coming in with an incredible example of what a professional should look like, even as a rookie. She will elevate even their most veteran player.”
Shoutout Dawn Staley and South Carolina:
Back-to-back regular-season SEC champs SEC tournament champs Third straight Final Four 36-1 season
She is projected to go No. 1 in the draft and when you look at her 2022 accomplishments, not to mention her whole career, it is hard to disagree. She was also named the 2023 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
🏆 SEC POY 🏆 SEC Defensive POY 🏆 Naismith POY 🏆 Naismith Defensive POY 🏆 Wade Trophy winner 🏆 USBWA POY 🏆 AP POY 🏆 Lisa Leslie Award winner 🏆 National Champion 🏆 Final Four MOP 🏆 Wooden Award winner
Boston enters the draft with a bright future ahead in the world of professional basketball. She elevated the game of basketball and was a consummate professional and teammate. Any team would be lucky to have such a kind, strong, and dominant player on their team and she will uplift her teammates both on and off the court. Thank you Aliyah for allowing us to witness your greatness these past four years.
St. John’s Red Storm defeat Purdue, 66-64, and advance the the Round of 64 in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament.
St. John’s Red Storm defeat Purdue, 66-64, and advance the the Round of 64 in the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA D1 tournament. The Red Storm held the lead for the majority of the game, but Purdue made a late run in the fourth quarter and almost took the game.
St. John’s made 11 three-pointers in the game with senior guard Unique Drake accounting for 4 of those buckets. Jayla Everett, a redshirt senior, led the Storm with 20 points and Drake put down a solid 16 points.
Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the University of Illinois Wednesday night, 70-56, in the First Four of the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA D1 tournament.
Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the University of Illinois Wednesday night, 70-56, in the First Four of the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA D1 tournament. This is Mississippi’s 21st win of the season and 23rd all-time NCAA Tournament win. This is head coach Sam Purcell’s first season with the Bulldogs.
“Here you go. You know you always get me. You get me. I’m not doing it. Again, it’s not about me. I appreciate all the love and the recognition, but I would not be sitting here today if I wasn’t coaching a great group of young women,” Purcell said.
Redshirt Senior Jessika Carter was dominant scoring 22 points with nine rebounds. Mississippi State’s bench outscored Illinois 20-6 with two other players, Anastasia Hayes and JerKaila Jordan, scoring in double digits.
Mississippi State will take on the No. 6 seeded Creighton Blue Jays in the Round of 64 which is scheduled for Friday, March 17th at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The Sacred Heart University Pioneers women’s basketball team makes history.
The Sacred Heart University Pioneers women’s basketball team notched their first NCAA Tournament win at the Division I level, which is a first for either the men’s or women’s basketball programs. It was also the first March Madness win for a Northeast Conference women’s team.
They played against Southern University, one of two HBCUs in the 2023 March Madness Women’s D1 NCAA tournament, and defeated them 57-47. They are now the underdog of the West Regional as the No. 16 seed and play No. 1 seeded Stanford at 7:30 p.m. ET on March 17th airing live on ESPN2.
Senior guard Olivia Tucker led the Pioneers with 13 points and freshman guard Ny’Ceara Pryor had 10 assists, eight rebounds, and 11 points. Junior forward Kelsey Wood added 10 points.
LSU’s Angel Reese leads D1 women’s basketball with the most double-doubles with 28 through 30 games with BYU’s Lauren Gustin coming second with 26 double-doubles in 32 games.
The stage is set for the 2023 March Madness Women’s Division 1 NCAA tournament. The First Four games are Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16. Before the action gets underway, we compiled some interesting statistics for the basketball aficionado.
All stats are current through gamesSunday, March 12, 2023. While players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and teams like the University of Connecticut and South Carolina being on the list aren’t surprising, some other teams and players are a bit less expected.
Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist holds the top spot in points per game with 28.9. Following a close second is Drexel’s Keishana Washington with 27.2 and rounding out the top three is the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark with 27.0.
While the top-scoring offense is Iowa with 87.5 per game, the top-scoring defense is HBCU Norfolk State with their opponent’s points per game being 50.
LSU’s Angel Reese leads D1 women’s basketball with the most double-doubles with 28 through 30 games with BYU’s Lauren Gustin coming second with 26 double-doubles in 32 games. The two then switch rankings when it comes to rebounds per game with Gustin taking the top spot with 16.6 and Reese taking second with 15.5.
BYU was not selected on Sunday to attend the tournament, so they will compete in the 2023 WNIT Postseason Tournament and will host the Rice Owls on Friday, March 17 at 7 p.m. in the Round of 64. Drexel women’s basketball also continues their season in the WNIT against Fordham on Thursday, March 16 at 7:00 pm ET.
Iowa, LSU, Villanova, and Norfolk State will all be in the 2023 March Madness Women’s Division 1 NCAA tournament, however, so you can catch Reese, Clark, Washington, and Siegrist in action.
For the full information on tournament including the schedule and how to watch the games, see our article here.
Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball player Angel Reese was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team.
Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball player Angel Reese was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team. Reese is also on the All-SEC First Team and All-Defensive Team.
She transferred to LSU from Maryland as the nation’s No. 1 impact transfer and led the SEC with 23.4 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game. Reese is also a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award as one of the nation’s top five players and a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award.
Her double-double records are impressive as well. In the first 23 games of the season, she recorded a double-double in each game which is the longest streak in LSU history and the longest streak by an SEC player ever to begin a season.
Reese has 27 double-doubles through 28 games, tied with Sylvia Fowles, for the most ever in a season by an LSU player. She received seven SEC Player of the Week honors throughout the season.
As per LSU’s press release, “Reese is the only NBA, WNBA or Division I men’s or women’s player in the last 20 years to have at least 30+ points, 15+ rebounds, 4+ assists, 4+ steals and shoot over 80-percent in the same game.”
A look at how HBCU’s performed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
The first Division 1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament took place in 1982. The matchup was between Louisiana Tech, who ended being crowned champion, and Cheyney State. This first-ever matchup set another record, that is still held today. Cheyney State was and remains, the only HBCU to make it to the championship game and to the Final Four. Cheyney State made it back to the tournament and won one game in 1983 and three games to advance to the Final Four in 1984.
Howard University and Jackson State also appeared in the 1982 tournament, but only Cheyney State made it to the last dance. Since then, there have been 19 HBCU women’s basketball programs that have played in the March Madness bracket. Hampton as the most appearances in the tournament for an HBCU with 9 appearances, but have yet to win a game.
Appearances
HBCU
9
Hampton
6
Grambling State
6
Howard
6
Jackson State
6
Prairie View A&M
5
North Carolina A&T
5
Southern
3
Alabama State
3
Alcorn State
3
Cheyney
3
Coppin State
3
Tennessee State
2
Florida A&M
1
Bethune-Cookman
1
Delaware State
1
Norfolk State
1
Savannah State
1
South Carolina State
1
Texas Southern
Howard is the only HBCU to win a tournament game since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1994. The Bison won their game in the inaugural First Four game of the 2022 tournament, defeating Incarnate Word 55-51.
The first Division 1 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship tournament took place in 1982. The matchup was between Louisiana Tech, who ended up being crowned champion, and Cheyney State. It was not the first championship game to be played in the sport, but it was the first to be held under the auspices of the NCAA.
Howard University and Jackson State also appeared in the 1982 tournament, but only Cheyney State made it to the last dance. Since then, 19 HBCU women’s basketball programs have played in the March Madness bracket. Hampton has the most appearances in the tournament for an HBCU with 9 appearances, but have yet to win a game.
The University of Tennessee and the University of Connecticut have dominated the championships with eight and 11 national titles, respectively.
With the action shortly underway in this year’s tournament, we must take a moment to recognize and respect the history. This is only the second year the women’s tournament was given the rights to use the term March Madness in connection with their championship tournament, with much credit going to Oregon’ Sedona Prince and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley for bringing light to the inequity.
For years the NCAA only used the term March Madness, which is the intellectual property of the association, in relation to the men’s tournament. The influx of investment because of the use that the term March Madness brings to the women’s game cannot be understated.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced they had “sold out of in-game sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.” This continues to show more brands are flocking to the women’s game.
College Sports Wire is getting you ready for the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Selection Sunday has ended, the games are scheduled, and it is almost time for March Madness. The stage is set for the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament. While the South Carolina Gamecocks look to go back-to-back some strong contenders are peaking at just the right time.
The first round is Friday and Saturday, March 17-18.
The second round is Sunday and Monday, March 19-20. Then the field narrows down to 16 teams taking place Friday and Saturday, March 24-25. The field narrows down further and the Elite 8 takes the stage Sunday and Monday, March 26-27. Starting this year, the Sweet 16 & Elite Eight are held at two sites per year, with eight teams competing at each site.
Round
City
Venue
Dates
Host
Regional
Greenville, S.C.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena
March 24 – 27
Southern Conference and Furman
Regional
Greenville, S.C.
Climate Pledge Arena
March 24 – 27
Seattle and Seattle Sports Commission
Final Four
Dallas
American Airlines Center
March 31 and April 2
Big 12 Conference and the Dallas Sports Commission
The Final Four is at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 31 on ESPN at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Then the national championship game is at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2 on ABC in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center.
