Here’s how to follow Thursday night’s women’s basketball action as the WNIT continues into the Super 16 round.
Florida women’s basketball travels to take on the Clemson Tigers on Thursday, March 23, inside Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina, in the Super 16 round of the 2023 Women’s National Invitation Tournament, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators (18-14, 5-11 SEC) opened up the tournament with a thrilling 66-63 win over the Wofford Terriers on Thursday to kick things off before knocking out the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on the road Monday, 80-63. The Tigers (19-15, 7-11 ACC) opened up with a 66-46 win over the High Point Purple Panthers on Thursday before prevailing over the Auburn Tigers in a 56-55 nail-biter on Monday.
The two programs have only met thrice since 1985, with Clemson holding a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. All three previous meetings came during the 1980s, with Florida winning the lone game on its home court over that stretch.
Here’s how to follow Monday night’s women’s basketball action as the WNIT continues to roll along.
Florida women’s basketball travels to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Monday, March 20, inside the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the second round of the 2023 Women’s National Invitation Tournament, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators (17-14, 5-11 SEC) opened up the tournament with a thrilling 66-63 win over the Wofford Terriers on Thursday to kick things off while the Demon Deacons (17-16, 5-13 ACC) handled the Morgan State Bears with ease on the same day, 75-49.
The two programs have only met twice prior dating back to 1983, splitting those two matchups with Florida winning the first game at home and Wake Forest taking the second in 2019 on neutral court.
When Mississippi State upset Creighton, 81-66, just 1.37% of all brackets remained perfect in the Women’s Bracket Challenge Game.
The 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament kicked off on March 15th with two First Four games, but the First Round action started on March 17th. The first game went into overtime and a buzzer beater by South Florida over Marquette set the stage for a slate of exciting games.
When Mississippi State upset Creighton, 81-66, just 1.37% of all brackets remained perfect in the Women’s Bracket Challenge Game. The luck of the Irish put Notre Dame over Southern Utah and Stanford broke hearts in their 92-49 win over Sacred Heart.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark had her 15th double-double of the season in their win over Southeastern Louisiana. Day 2 of the first round starts on Saturday 11:30 am 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.
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.”
The show hosted by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will air for the Final Four and Championship game on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+.
The 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship is airing exclusively across ESPN platforms from March 15-April 2, and the network brought back two WNBA superstars and University of Connecticut legends to host the action.
“Back by popular demand, AT&T returns as the presenting and halftime sponsor of “The Bird & Taurasi Show” second screen viewing option of the Final Four and championship game featuring women’s basketball legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi – providing fans with a one-of-a-kind perspective of the final matchups, all airing on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+,” ESPN announced on Tuesday.
This will be the second time the duo brings their unique perspective and entertainment to the screen for the tournament with their own show.
According to ESPN: “South Carolina’s wire-to-wire victory in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship scored 4.85 million viewers Sunday night to become the most-watched women’s title game since 2004, and the fourth largest audience to watch a women’s championship game since ESPN began exclusively airing the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in 1996.”
This year’s tournament has “attracted 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers across various categories.” With more investment and more extensive broadcasting coverage, this year’s tournament is poised to again break records.
Even Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry joined “The Bird & Taurasi Show” last year.
Who knows what the duo has in store for the tournament this year, but what we do know is it will be entertaining.
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.
Alex Sinatra next highlights Oregon Ducks star Sedona Prince for Women’s History Month.
This Women’s History Month, I will be spotlighting women athletes and their achievements in college, after college, and beyond. Athletes are Humans First and while I want to highlight their athletic ability and achievements, I also want to point a spotlight on what they are doing off their field of play.
Sedona Prince made headlines when she shared a TikTok video of the NCAA’s inequitable treatment of the women’s and men’s basketball tournaments. She helped usher in change and when rules allowed college athletes to monetize their NIL, Prince was well-poised to excel in the space. Since then she has inked deals with Crocs, Uninterrupted, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Champs to name a few. She is set to enter the 2023 WNBA draft which airs on ESPN on April 10.
Her athlete advocacy off the court is just as impressive as she continues to shed a spotlight on what it means to be More Than an Athlete. Prince enjoys merging her advocacy and entrepreneurship with brands that align with her core values.
The way she navigates this NIL ecosystem shows that it is more than one-off deals. It is about building a future for yourself and your family.
In an interview with Boardroom, Prince shared her philosophy on what NIL did for her, “I guess I just became empowered. Like I have a voice to make change. I can partner with companies that I love. I’m making this money, to support my family, that I can have for the rest of my life to invest or to save.”
Here’s how to follow Thursday night’s women’s basketball action in the O’Dome on Thursday.
Florida women’s basketball hosts the Wofford Terriers on Thursday, March 16, inside the O’Connell Center in the 2023 Women’s National Invitation Tournament, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators (16-14, 5-12 SEC) are coming off a loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in their opening game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament back on March 1 and will have some rust to shake off when they take the O’Dome floor. The Terriers (22-9, 10-4 SoCon), on the other hand, made it three games deep into their conference tournament before being knocked out by Chatanooga on March 5.
The two schools have only met twice before — both on a neutral court — with the Orange and Blue emerging victoriously both times in 2016 and 2021.
With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.
If you follow along with March Madness, you have heard the name Sedona Prince. She shined a spotlight on the NCAA’s inequitable treatment of the women’s and men’s basketball tournaments.
This brought a national spotlight to not only the women’s March Madness, but to Prince herself. She made headlines again when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the NCAA in Alston v. NCAA, which ushered in the era of college athletes being able to monetize their own name, image and likeness.
Prince told Boardroom in 2022 that “with the help of her representation at Wasserman, she’s made north of $500,000 across 18 business and partnership deals, with no plans of slowing down” in one year after the Alston decision. She has deals with notable brands Crocs, Uninterrupted, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Champs to name a few.
With her ability to make money in college through her platform, she opted to stay at Oregon for the 2022-2023 season. However, a season-ending elbow injury cut the season short.
Sedona Prince will undergo season-ending elbow surgery to repair a torn ligament.
Prince will exhaust her remaining eligibility to focus on recovery before pursuing a professional career.
However, in a short interview on March 11, Prince also revealed she wants to play in Athletes Unlimited basketball Season 3. With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.
While Prince’s college career was cut short, we could see her in the upcoming WNBA season and the upcoming Athletes Unlimited season. More Prince is good for all of us.
