Tag: Womens Basketball

Defense leads Longhorns past Gonzaga in women’s Sweet 16

A stifling defense propelled the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns past the No. 4 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs 69-47 in Sweet 16 action Friday.

Three Texas Longhorns women’s basketball players scored in double figures as a stifling defense propelled the No. 1 seed Longhorns past the No. 4 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs 69-47 in Sweet 16 action Friday at the Moda Center.

Aaliyah Moore led Texas with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while battling injury throughout the contest.

Shaylee Gonzales added 15 points while Shay Holle registered 12 points.

The Longhorns used a 10-0 run to take a 14-7 lead just past the halfway mark of the first quarter. Madison Booker picked up her second foul with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter and was held to two points in the first half. Moore picked up the slack, leading Texas with nine points in the half.

Texas ended the half on a 10-2 run to lead 37-18. The Longhorns held Gonzaga to 14% from the field with only three field goals made.

Gonzales made a three pointer to halt a 9-0 Zags run in the third to get Texas a 44-29 lead. The Longhorns stretched the lead out to 19, 54-35, at the end of the third.

Texas held Gonzaga to 26.5% from the field in the game.

The Longhorns will face No. 3 NC State in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

SEC opponents confirmed for Women’s Hoops

Head coach Johnnie Harris is gearing up for her third season on the Plains.

[autotag]Johnnie Harris[/autotag] is gearing up for her third season on the Plains.

After Auburn fell 56-55 at the hands of the Clemson Tigers in the second round of the WNIT, the Tigers are ready to get back in the swing of things.

Auburn will face the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks twice in the regular season. This is a tough draw as LSU is the defending National Champion and South Carolina is a perennial powerhouse.

The Tigers will face the Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky Wildcats, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies just one time in the regular season. Each matchup will take place at home in Neville Arena.

The teams Auburn will only face on the road in the regular season are the Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida Gators, Ole Miss Rebels, Missouri Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores.

Additionally, Auburn will get a rematch with Clemson in the first year of the SEC/ACC Challenge. The contest will take place in Neville Arena on November 30th at 8 p.m. CT.

The dates and times for these games as well as the remaining non-conference opponents will be announced later.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

DeWanna Bonner now top 10 all-time in WNBA scoring

Bonner is now just 36 points away from climbing to No. 9.

After posting 20 points in the Connecticut Sun’s 85-79 victory over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night, former Auburn forward [autotag]DeWanna Bonner[/autotag] now sits top 10 all-time in WNBA scoring and is only 36 points away from the No. 9 spot.

The Fairfield, Alabama native is currently playing her 14th season in the WNBA.

Bonner is having a productive season with the Sun averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.

During her time on the Plains, Bonner averaged 18.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. She was named First Team All-America by the WBCA and the USBWA in 2009.

The Sun will take on the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

ESPNU to Honor Muffet McGraw on Monday

Either way, clearly a historic career by McGraw who finishes as one of the legends of women’s college basketball.  If you’re working from home Monday it’ll be a good day to have a few all-time classic Notre Dame and McGraw victories on in the background.

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Recently retired Muffet McGraw will get a day in her honor on ESPNU Monday as the channel will dedicate the day to some of her greatest accomplishments at Notre Dame.

Some all-time great moments in that slew of games but I feel like at least one of the time slots should be dedicated to the a game or two from 2000.  Knocking off number-one Connecticut or winning the national championship over Purdue in thrilling fashion, both of which were thrillers and originally aired on ESPN?

Either way, clearly a historic career by McGraw who finishes as one of the legends of women’s college basketball.  If you’re working from home Monday it’ll be a good day to have a few all-time classic Notre Dame and McGraw victories on in the background.

2022 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament: Semi-final preview

Does Notre Dame get past the upset-minded Hurricanes?

A day full of action in the 2022 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament was had Friday as the quarterfinals took place in Greensboro.  It started with No. 5 Virginia Tech taking down No. 4 North Carolina in overtime after a thrilling fourth quarter.  No.1 North Carolina State rolled past No. 9 Florida State before No. 7 Miami finished on a 17-0 to upset No. 2 Louisville, and No. 3 Notre Dame blew past No. 6 Georgia Tech.

Saturday sees the semifinals of the tournament that get started at 12:00 p.m. EST.  Here is a quick preview of Saturday’s action in the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.

First up – North Carolina State vs. Virginia Tech…

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2022 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview

Who should be on upset watch Thursday?

The second day of the 2022 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament is the first of two consecutive days that will see four games played in Greensboro.  Day one saw Clemson dominate Syracuse before a couple of comebacks by Duke and Wake Forest to secure spots in today’s second round.

Today’s schedule for the four second round games goes as follows:

11 a.m. ET:  No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Clemson
2 p.m. ET:  No. 8 Boston College vs. No. 9 Florida State
6 p.m. ET: No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 Duke
8 p.m. ET: No. 6 Georgia Tech vs. No. 11 Wake Forest

Click here for a look at the updated bracket entering play on Thursday

ACC Tournament 2022: Women’s basketball bracket

Is anyone beating NC State or Louisville?

The 2022 ACC Tournament gets underway on Wednesday, March 2 with three games taking place in order to get to the round of 12.  From there, four games will be played on Thursday in order to set up the quarterfinals.

Here is how the bracket for the 2022 ACC Tournament will appear:

Image courtesy of the ACC

Notre dame gets a double-bye to the quarterfinals and will play whoever comes out of the pod between No. 6 Georgia Tech, No. 11 Wake Forest, and No. 14 Virginia.  A win in that round would in all likelihood mean another date with No. 2 Louisville in the semi-finals, a team that has blown out the Irish twice in the last month.

We’ll keep you posted as to the results of each game and day of the ACC Tournament.

Wednesday’s ACC Tournament Schedule:

First Round – Wednesday, March 2
Game No. 1 – No. 12 Syracuse vs. No. 13 Clemson, 1 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 2 – No. 10 Duke vs. No. 15 Pitt, 3:30 p.m. (RSN)
Game No. 3 – No. 11 Wake Forest vs. No. 14 Virginia, 6:30 p.m. (RSN)

Notre Dame star named ACC freshman of the year

The hardware keeps coming

The calendar turned to March on Tuesday, which meant end of the season awards for ACC women’s basketball. The league office presented Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron with its Blue-Ribbon Panel (BRP) Freshman of the Year Award.

It marked the second consecutive year, and third time overall, Notre Dame had a student-athlete receive the prestigious award, as Citron joined Maddy Westbeld (2021) and Brianna Turner (2015).

However, the Irish accolades didn’t stop there. Point guard Olivia Miles was tabbed First Team All-ACC on both the Blue-Ribbon and Head Coaches Panel. She was the only freshman to make First Team.

Forward Maya Dodson earned Second Team honors with the BRP while landing on the First Team with the head coaches. Furthermore, Dodson was 1-of-5 players to make the All-ACC Defensive Team.

Citron tied the program record with her six ACC Freshman of the Week award selections – the six were also the most of any freshman in the league this season.

Citron was also the most complete freshman, for she boasted the highest points+rebounds+assists/game of any of her competitors with a 20.8. In addition, Citron recorded five double-doubles on the year, while the next highest ACC freshman achieved just one.

And just to reiterate how special Citron was this past season, she is one of three freshmen nationally averaging 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game.

Then there’s her fellow freshman Miles, who leads the Irish in scoring (13.8 ppg) and steals (1.9), and just so happens to rank fourth in the nation in assists per game (7.0). Miles has been clutch down the stretch, recording double-digit points in 11 of her past 12 games

Miles ranks in the top-15 in the ACC in six different categories – the best of any Irish player. She boasts seven double-doubles on the year, which includes a triple-double.

All-in-all, Miles and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only players in the country averaging at least 13p/5r/7a.

Next, Dodson ranks eighth in the nation and leads all ACC players in blocks per game, averaging 2.8. Dodson also ranks second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg), fifth in the ACC in rebounds (7.9) and top-25 in the nation in offensive boards (3.8).

Dodson proved her defensive prowess in back-to-back wins against two of the best centers in the league. Dodson got Elissa Cunane into early foul trouble and kept her at bay with 13 points, then kept Elizabeth Kitley 10 points under her season average with eight.

She too has come on strong down the stretch, registering 14 double-digit scoring performances over the last 16 games.

NEXT: 2021-22 Blue Ribbon Panel Awards

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Louisville blows out Notre Dame in regular season finale

Woof.

Notre Dame was one game away from finishing the season unbeaten at home but that final game was the most difficult team on the home schedule as No. 4 Louisville routed the Irish for the second time in just weeks.  The following writeup is courtesy of Notre Dame athletics:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was a tale of two halves for the No. 14 Notre Dame women’s basketball squad (21-7, 13-5) versus the visiting No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (25-3, 16-2). The Fighting Irish were plagued from a 1-for-18 shooting start from the field, while down on the other end Louisville started 7-for-7 from three, all in the first quarter, to jump out to a 31-3 advantage. The Irish outscored the Cardinals 49-32 in the second half, but ultimately fell 86-64. It marked Notre Dame’s first loss at home this season, dropping to 13-1 inside Purcell Pavilion.

Regardless of today’s outcome, Notre Dame has secured the double-bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament, but will have to await the result of tonight’s Virginia Tech/NC State matchup to determine whether it’s the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. Notre Dame’s first game will be on Friday, March 4 inside the Greensboro Coliseum.

How It Happened

Louisville just couldn’t miss in the first half, going 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone to build a 31-3 lead. At one point in the first half the Cardinals were 19-of-24 from the field before finishing the half 23-of-34.

On the flipside, the Irish couldn’t find their rhythm, starting 1-of-18 from the field, and 6-of-27 by half. Add in the fact that the Cardinals owned a 26-8 rebounding advantage, the Irish found themselves in a 54-15 hole at the midway point.

The Irish got clicking on offense in the third quarter, where they outscored the Cardinals 19-17. Olivia Miles was the spark, shooting 4-for-4 in the quarter tallying eight points. As a whole, Notre Dame was 8-of-14 from the field.

The Irish finally got the three-ball going in the fourth, hitting four treys (Mabrey, Peoples, Brunelle x 2) before the media timeout. Mabrey and Peoples each had seven points in the quarter in which the Irish outscored the Cards 30-15.

All-in-all, Notre Dame shot 62 percent in the second half compared to 22 percent in the first. Four Irish finished in double figures: Dodson (12 pts), Mabrey (12 pts), Miles (13 pts) and Citron (10 pts). Citron led the team in boards with eight.

Notre Dame women’s basketball routs Clemson, earns double-bye in ACC Tournament

Notre Dame takes care of business against Clemson

SOUTH BEND – The mission was clear for the No. 14 Notre Dame women’s basketball team on Thursday – defeat Clemson at home and receive a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. Well, they understood the assignment, as the Fighting Irish (21-6, 13-4) soared to a 77-56 victory over the visiting Tigers (9-19, 3-14).

With the win, the Irish also remained undefeated at home, improving to 13-0, and will look to complete the gauntlet against No. 4 Louisville on Sunday, Feb. 27.

Sonia Citron produced her second-highest scoring total of the season, pouring in 23 points tonight. The New York native produced her fifth double-double on the year and second straight, reeling in a season high 13 boards. She also dished out a season best eight assists.

Maya Dodson recorded her sixth game with 20-plus points with 20 tonight on an efficient 9-of-11 shooting. She also notched nine rebounds and five blocks. Olivia Miles also almost secured a double-double with 11 points and nine assists.

Notre Dame recorded 26 assists on 31 made baskets, shooting 50 percent tonight. The Irish scored 25 points off of 17 Clemson turnovers.

How It Happened

All five starters plus Brunelle got on the scoresheet in the first quarter. Mabrey hit two three-pointers early, while Citron and Dodson ended the quarter on a combined 7-0 run to establish an 18-11 lead.

That extended into a 23-2 scoring run into the second quarter, as Citron had 10 of the 23 points. In fact by halftime, Citron nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

By half, the Irish led 38-20, holding their opponent to 20 points or less for the second straight contest. Notre Dame caused 11 Clemson turnovers in the first half in which they converted to 18 points. In addition, the Irish shot over 40 percent in each of the first two quarters.

Clemson found a little rhythm to start the third, out-scoring Notre Dame 12-5 to pull within 11 points at 5:58. However, over the final 3:46 of the quarter, Notre Dame settled in and outpaced Clemson 11-6 to extend its lead to 56-40. Dodson scored five straight points during that stretch while Citron finally got her double-double.

Dodson scored eight of the team’s first 12 points in the fourth as the Irish never looked back, cruising to the 77-56 final. Dodson and Miles each flirted with their respective double-doubles while Citron was two assists shy of a triple-double.

Up Next

One regular-season game left and it’s the conference rival. No. 4 Louisville comes to town on Sunday and puts the undefeated home record to the test. That matchup tips off at Noon ET on ESPN2.