Tag: women’s basketball

Women’s basketball 2022-2023 home and road SEC opponents announced

A look at the women’s conference schedule for 2022-23.

With the new leader and 2021 SEC Coach of the Year, Joni Taylor, set to begin her Texas A&M tenure in the 2022-2023 season, the Aggies learned their Southeast Conference home and road opponents this week. Their home slate will consist of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi St., Ole Miss, Missouri, and Tennessee. Their road schedule has the Aggies playing at Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi St., South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.

Game dates, tip-off times, and viewing information will be confirmed and released at a later date.

The Aggies’ non-conference schedule will be announced at a later date, as well, when opponents and game details are finalized.

There will be no return to Athens in 2022-2023 for coach Taylor, but emotions will be running high when the Aggies host the Lady Bulldogs in Reed Arena come conference play. A proven winner and leader the entire athletics department believes in, coach Taylor will look to bring Aggies women’s basketball back to national prominence as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Former Razorback Sytia Messer named head coach at UCF

A member of the 1998 Women’s Final Four and 1999 NIT Championship teams is now leading the Women’s Basketball program at UCF.

[autotag]Sytia Messer[/autotag], a former athlete for Arkansas Women’s Basketball and longtime assistant coach under Kim Mulkey during her time at Baylor and LSU, has been named the head basketball coach at UCF.

Messer spent one season at LSU, where she served as associate head coach under Mulkey. In that one season, the Tigers finished 26-6 with an appearance in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, a complete turnaround from the 9-13 record that LSU finished with in the 2020-21 season.

Most of Messer’s coaching success happened while she was at Baylor, coaching under Mulkey for the final eight seasons that she was in Waco. While at Baylor, the Bears won eight regular-season Big 12 championships, six Big 12 tournament championships, and one national title.

Messer, a native of Waldo, Ark. was inducted into the Razorbacks Hall of Honor in 2018 after an illustrious career at Arkansas, where she was a member of the 1998 Final Four squad, and the 1999 team that won the Women’s NIT. She played in 128 games as a Razorback, starting in 96 of those.

Messer is the second head coach at UCF with Arkansas ties. Knights head football coach Gus Malzahn is an Arkansas high school coaching legend and served as offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks in 2006.

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Florida falls to UCF in first round of Women’s NCAA Tournament

After losing several key players over the course of the season, Florida women’s basketball fell to UCF in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Saturday.

An emotional season for the Florida women’s basketball team has come to an end with a 69-52 loss to the Central Florida Knights on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

The Gators started the season with plenty of questions surrounding the program after head coach Cameron Newbauer stepped down following accusations of abuse. Kelly Rae Finley took over as interim head coach and led Florida to an 11-5 start. Then, the program lost star guard Lavender Briggs for the season to an injury. Briggs announced her intention to transfer days later, eventually landing at Maryland.

Staring down a conference schedule filled with matchups against ranked opponents, the Gators had to find a way to win without their leading scorer at the time.

Enter fifth-year guard Kiara “Kiki” Smith.

With Briggs out of the picture, Smith became the main focus of the Florida offense. She led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals by the season’s end. Prepared to make a deep run in the conference and NCAA Tournament, Smith’s final season as a Gator was cut short by injury in the first round of the SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt. UF ended up winning that game by a point, but it would be their last victory of the season.

Florida was bounced from the conference tournament by Ole Miss in the second round bringing us to Saturday’s 17-point drubbing by the Knights. The Gators tried to keep it close, but UCF’s tenacious defense was too overwhelming for a team that’s lost its best ball handlers.

Nina Rickards took over the scoring load for Florida with 17 points on the afternoon. Six of those came in the first quarter, but the 5-point lead established by UCF in the first ten minutes would only grow as each quarter came to a close.

By halftime, the Gators trailed by 11 and were down another player. Forward Faith Dut was helped off the court with a minute remaining in the half and did not return. Florida briefly brought the lead down to six, but UCF was able to come back at will and win every quarter. Brittney Smith led the Knights with 26 points and six rebounds, and guard Diamond Battles scored 18 points.

Although the Knights never really looked back after taking the lead in the first quarter, Florida put up a good fight considering everything thrown at them over the last few months. A first-round exit from the Tournament can hardly be viewed as a failure, and the program is in good hands with Finley being elevated to permanent head coach.

UCF goes on to play 11-time Tournament winner UConn in the second round. The Huskies would very likely have crushed this depleted Gators squad, and the Knights are clearly the better team right now.

Florida finishes the 2021-22 season 21-11 and with plenty to look forward to with Finley at the helm.

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Lady Gators earn NCAA Tournament bid, play in-state foe in first round

Here’s where Florida’s WBK team landed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Coming off an alleged abuse scandal that rocked the program and led to the dismissal of head coach Cameron Neubauer, most did not expect much out of Florida’s women’s basketball program this season. Against all odds — not to mention losing its leading scorer Lavender Briggs to injury and ultimately the transfer portal mid-season — the Lady Gators have made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

The bracket for this year’s tournament was announced Sunday night on CBS Sports, with Florida earning a No. 10 seed in the Bridgeport Region and lined up to play the No. 7-seeded UCF Knights in the first round. This is the first year that the women’s tournament is expanded to a 68-team field like the men, which has the traditional 64-team bracket plus four play-in teams.

The Lady Gators have participated in the NCAA tournament 15 times prior dating back to its first appearance in 1993. They hold a 12-15 record over that span, advancing past the second round just twice — back-to-back seasons in 1997 and 1998 in which Florida reached the Elite Eight and Sweet 16, respectively. The Orange and Blue were bounced in the first round the last time it played in the tournament as a No. 5 seed by No. 12 Albany.

The departure of Neubauer left an opportunity open for current head coach Kelly Rae Finley, whose efforts this season earned her a promotion from interim coach with a five-year contract at the end of February. Florida put together a 21-10 record including a 10-6 mark in SEC play this season, a stark improvement on its 12-14 overall and 3-11 record in SEC play last year.

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Women’s basketball is finally getting the full-scale fantasy treatment this spring

ESPN Fantasy is adding season-long fantasy WNBA games.

Women’s basketball is finally getting the full-scale fantasy treatment and it couldn’t come quick enough.

ESPN is launching ESPN Fantasy Women’s Basketball in early April for signups ahead of the May 6 start of 2022 WNBA season, the company announced Tuesday. It will be the first season-long fantasy game dedicated to a major women’s sport by any major national platform.

Like other fantasy games, the women’s basketball version will offer customizable settings for number of teams, scoring formats, roster options and public and private league options. It will also be supported with analytical tools and editorial insights to help with roster decisions, according to ESPN.

Now, the only questions is who to take first in your upcoming fantasy women’s basketball draft?

Tina Charles…Breanna Stewart…Jonquel Jones? Really can’t go wrong either way.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball catches big break

Consider it a bonus heading into the three-day weekend.

The day after a hard-fought victory that took overtime at Georgia Tech, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team received some positive news as the ACC announced Friday that Notre Dame’s trip to Virginia on February 22nd will no longer take place.

The game against Virginia was originally set for January 25 but COVID on the Cavaliers roster postponed that.  Due to this game also being called off Virginia will get handed a forfeit which means Notre Dame gets the credit for a victory despite not having to travel or play.  Virginia has only won one ACC game this season but not having to go to Charlottesville and getting a break instead is an added bonus.

This goes a long way as the Irish continue to battle for a top-four seed in the ACC which would mean they get a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.  With only home games against Clemson and No. 3 Louisville remaining, a Notre Dame victory in either of those would clinch a top-four spot.

Lady Gators crack AP Top 25 following fifth ranked win of the season

Kelly Rae Finley has Florida women’s basketball ranked for the first time in over five years.

Florida women’s basketball is on a tear, and the Gators are now No. 19 in the Associated Press poll following a win over then-No. 14 Georgia on Sunday.

It’s the first time since 2016 that the Lady Gators are ranked, and the team has found most of its success following the loss of leading scorer Lavender Briggs, who transferred to Maryland midseason after an injury ended her campaign early. Since Briggs’ departure, the Gators are 7-2 against the conference, including wins over five ranked opponents.

To make the moment even sweeter for Gators Nation, Florida’s win over Georgia snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. It’s also just the sixth time in program history that the team has won in Athens.

Florida’s entry into the top 25 makes it five teams from the Southeastern Conference in the prestigious group. Georgia fell to No. 17, LSU sits at No. 13, Tennessee is No. 13 and South Carolina is the No. 1 team in the country. The Gators already upset the Tigers and Vols on this impressive run, but the Gamecocks handed Kelly Rae Finley’s team a 12-point loss in the middle of it.

Regardless of that loss, or the one to Ole Miss following Briggs’ departure, Florida women’s basketball looks primed to make a run deep into the SEC tournament (and maybe even in the NCAA Tournament).

Losing your top scorer isn’t supposed to help your team, but that’s what is happening in Gainesville in 2022.

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Q&A: Dawn Staley on why it’s the perfect time for her new podcast, South Carolina and, of course, sneakers

Dawn Staley’s new podcast

Dawn Staley has been around the world. She’s seen a lot of things.

She’s lived a lot of life from her time coming up as a young hooper in the rough and rugged streets of North Philly to her coaching Team USA’s Women’s Basketball Team to yet another gold medal in the cozy confines of Tokyo last summer.

She’s done all of this while also being a Black woman stuck in a spotlight she never necessarily asked for. That’s what her journey has looked like. And while she’s been on her journey, she’s met countless others who have been on theirs as well.

And that’s why the South Carolina basketball coach is launching her new podcast, NetLife with Just Women’s Sports. She’s ready to share the details on her journey and give other women in sports a platform to share theirs. She’s already kicked things off with an episode featuring Lisa Leslie.

Through sharing, she hopes, she can continue to elevate more women in sports. “I just feel like I have a story to tell,” Staley told For The Win.

We asked her why, after such a wild 2021, this was the right time to launch a pod. Below is our conversation. Enjoy. (This interview has been condensed and edited).

Lady Gators lose star guard Lavender Briggs for season

The Gators are losing one of their best to injury once again

Florida women’s basketball will be without one of its stars for the remainder of the season after junior guard Lavender Briggs announced that an injury would sideline her. Briggs is dealing with a stress fracture in her left shin, according to the Associated Press.

Briggs led the team in points and rebounds per game, playing in 14 of Florida’s first 15 games. She missed the final eight games of her sophomore season with a foot injury.

“She is obviously a key component for our team, and we will miss what she brings to the court,” interim coach Kelly Rae Finley said. “We want her to do what’s best in both the short and long term, not only for her basketball career, but for her quality of life.”

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Briggs is only 39 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club, but she’ll have to wait until next year to reach the milestone. She’ll become the 27th Gator to hit the mark. Kiara “Kiki” Smith is the team’s outright leader in points and will be the focal point of the offense going forward. Forward Jordyn Merritt is also averaging above 10 points per game and could add to that with Briggs out.

Rutgers transfer Zippory “Zippy” Broughton and freshman Alberte Rimdal could also see some more action. Guard Nina Rickards has started 13 games for Florida but is only averaging 6.9 points per game.

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Alabama WBB reaches impressive program milestone amid 7-game win streak

Alabama WBB just reached a major milestone!

Alabama Women’s Basketball is currently on a seven-game win streak, which was extended today, as the team defeated Sam Houston State 84-50 at home to improve to 9-2 on the season.

While the seven consecutive wins is an impressive feat, the win over Sam Houston State marks an impressive 800 program wins for the Crimson Tide.

The women’s team began playing back in 1974, and have since made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, one trip to the Final Four and now 800 wins.

The team celebrated the big win on the court and the social media team shared images and a special graphic to commemorate the win.

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