Tag: Women’s college basketball

Haley Cavinder is transferring to TCU after her brief retirement from women’s basketball

One of the Cavinders will be suiting up for the Horned Frogs next season.

Haley Cavinder is coming back to women’s college basketball.

After helping Miami make the Elite Eight for the first time ever last spring, she and her twin sister Hanna announced they were retiring from the sport to pursue full-time careers as influencers and media personalities. They got involved with the WWE and started hosting a podcast for Jake Paul’s Betr.

But both players still had a year of NCAA eligibility left, and Haley – who was an All-ACC selection last season – felt something pulling her back to basketball. In October, she entered the transfer portal out of Miami.

And on Tuesday, Cavinder announced that she’ll play her final season of college hoops at TCU.

@cavindertwins

commited 💜🐸 #foryou #basketball

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It should be noted that it is highly unlikely that Cavinder will play this season for the Horned Frogs. She would need an NCAA waiver to do so, and the NCAA has yet to rule on waivers for players who transferred last spring – like Diamond Johnson, who went from N.C. State to Norfolk State.

So, Cavinder will likely suit up for TCU next season, and she should be a big help to the Horned Frogs when she does. In addition to her standout campaign at Miami, Cavinder is a former Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Over four combined seasons at Fresno State and Miami, she averaged 16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.6% from the floor and 35.9% from 3-point land.

Landing Cavinder is a big win for first-year TCU coach Mark Campbell, who also brought in former Oregon star Sedona Prince this season.

UConn’s shocking loss to NC State is the latest stunning upset in women’s college basketball

Just like No. 1 LSU, No. 2 UConn was the victim of an upset in the opening week of women’s basketball.

It happened to Ohio State. It happened to LSU. It happened to Ole Miss. And now, it has happened to UConn.

The Huskies were the latest victims of an upset, the kind of loss that has been rampant in the first week of this women’s college basketball season. Second-ranked UConn went into a sold-out Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday and lost to an unranked N.C. State team, 92-81.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma did not mince words about the defeat:

“We got our asses beat. Plain and simple.”

For N.C. State, the win was a historic one on multiple levels. It’s the first time the Wolfpack had beaten the Huskies since 1998, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series for N.C. State. It’s also the first time an unranked N.C. State team has beaten a team in the top-five of the AP Top 25 Poll since 2016.

And it was the first time since 2001 that a UConn team allowed an opponent to score 92 points in regulation, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Saniya Rivers led the way for N.C. State with a career-high 33 points to go along with a career-best-tying 13 rebounds for her first-ever double-double. Rivers also had five assists, three blocks and three steals in a stat-stuffing effort. She’s just the third player since the 2009-10 season to tally that stat line, according to HerHoopStats.

Rivers said after the win:

“I just knew I had to show up for my teammates… The fans were amazing. It felt good. Their energy was a big reason we came out swinging tonight.”

Aziaha James added 18 points for the Wolfpack, while freshman Zoe Brooks – the latest in a long line of rookies to shine in opening week – chipped in 12 points and four boards.

Perhaps most surprising was that the Wolfpack outrebounded a UConn team armed with All-American Aaliyah Edwards patrolling the paint, 41-29. N.C. State also outscored the Huskies 12-6 in second chance points and 28-14 in fast break points.

Edwards had 21 points and six rebounds. Paige Bueckers, in her second game back from the injury that kept her out all of last season, had 27 points and three assists.

Not even appearances by Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner – who played an exhibition at nearby Duke on Sunday morning with Team USA – could boost the morale of UConn and will the Huskies to a win.

The win marks a bit of revenge that was a long time coming for Wes Moore and his program. In the 2022 Elite Eight, the Wolfpack lost to UConn in double-overtime in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Wolfpack players who played in that defeat have moved on, but Bueckers, Edwards and Fudd were on that team for the Huskies.

With multiple ranked teams losing this week to teams unranked or ranked lower than them, expect a shakeup in Monday’s AP Top 25 Poll.

The last time each preseason Top 25 women’s basketball team won a national title

It’s been a long drought for USC, which hasn’t won a national title since the days of Cheryl Miller in the 1980s.

If you’re a fan of women’s college basketball, perhaps you’ve glanced at the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll ahead of the season starting on Nov. 6.

And if you’ve looked at that poll – with LSU at the top and Mississippi State at the bottom – perhaps you’ve wondered, “When’s the last time any of these teams won it all?”

We have you covered.

Below is a complete list of the last time each preseason top 25 team won a national championship.

The following preseason Top 25 teams have never won a national championship: Iowa, UCLA, Utah, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Ole Miss, Louisville, Florida State, Colorado, Creighton, Illinois

And the following former national champions are not ranked in the 2023 preseason AP Top 25 Poll: Texas A&M (2011), Purdue (1999), Texas Tech (1993), Louisiana Tech (1988, 1982), Old Dominion (1985)

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Caitlin Clark is still incredible, and what else we learned from Iowa’s win over Virginia Tech

Caitlin Clark scored more than 40 points in a single game for the ninth time in her career.

The fifth ranked-versus-ranked matchup of the opening week in women’s college basketball did not disappoint. Caitlin Clark and Georgia Amoore traded 3-pointers, Elizabeth Kitley had a double-double, and Iowa’s cast of supporting players asserted themselves in the paint.

When the dust settled, No. 3 Iowa topped No. 8 Virginia Tech 80-76 in front of an announced crowd of 15,196 fans at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clark scored 44 points as the Ally Tipoff lived up to the hype.

Despite the defeat, Virginia Tech was extremely complimentary of the electric atmosphere in Charlotte.

“It was absolutely unreal, for our second game in November… It’s what you dream of when you come to college,” Amoore said. “To be put on the spotlight in an NBA arena with a great opponent, that’s just what you can dream of.”

Hokies coach Kenny Brooks added: “I’ve been in this arena before when Steph Curry was in here and it wasn’t this loud.”

An early season matchup like this between two teams that played in the Final Four last spring can tell us quite a bit about where they’re going and what sort of expectations we should have for these squads going forward.

Here’s what we learned about the Hawkeyes and the Hokies:

The 5 best moments from women’s college basketball opening day, including LSU’s historic upset

Paging LSU. Colorado called and said it didn’t care about your number one ranking.

Holy basketball, Batman. What happened in Vegas did NOT stay in Vegas.

The 2023-2024 college basketball season just started, and it’s already threatening to bust season-long predictions. If you thought you had the women’s college basketball landscape figured out, think again. March Madness has officially moved to November. Adjust your calendars accordingly.

From a jaw-dropping game in Paris to not one but TWO top-ranked upsets, the opening day of college basketball was a wild ride. In case you missed any of the action, we’ve got you covered, including some things you may have missed.

These are the five best moments from women’s college basketball opening day:

Iowa fans greatly enjoy watching No. 1 LSU tumble on season’s opening night

Iowa fans greatly enjoyed watching No. 1 LSU fall by the wayside on the season’s opening night.

Maybe it’s going to take this LSU superteam a minute.

After opening night, that’s the obvious indication from No. 18 Colorado‘s shocking 92-78 upset of No. 1 LSU, the defending national champion.

In the Hall of Fame Series from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, Colorado’s Big Three stole the show. CU senior guard Frida Formann knocked down seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points. Junior center Aaronette Vonleh added 24. Graduate student guard Jaylyn Sherrod had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Meanwhile, LSU junior forward Angel Reese finished with a double-double, but she shot just 6-of-15 from the floor to finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman guard Mikaylah Williams actually ended the night as the Tigers’ leading scorer, finishing with 17 points. Louisville transfer and graduate student guard Hailey Van Lith added 14 points for the Tigers, but she shot 4-of-11 from the floor. DePaul transfer Aneesah Morrow ended the night with six points, shooting 2-of-9 from the field.

After a contentious finish to last season’s national championship game when Reese mocked Iowa’s Caitlin Clark in the game’s final seconds, Hawkeye fans surely haven’t forgotten.

In addition to Clark and Iowa’s season-opening blowout of FDU, Hawkeye fans greatly enjoyed Colorado’s upset of LSU.

5 storylines to watch this women’s college basketball season: Can LSU repeat?

Can LSU repeat? And how competitive will the Pac-12 be in its final season?

The long offseason is over. Women’s college basketball is back.

It’s been seven months since the Final Four in Dallas, where Iowa ended South Carolina’s perfect season and LSU triumphed over a Virginia Tech team making its national semifinal debut. In the championship game, the Tigers contained Caitlin Clark just enough to win their first-ever national title, and the fourth overall for coach Kim Mulkey.

Some stars like Aliyah Boston and Diamond Miller went off to the WNBA, while others like Elizabeth Kitley and Celeste Taylor came back to college for one more year. Other offseason headlines were powered by the transfer portal and coaching changes.

Here’s a few storylines that you need to pay attention to as the season gets underway.

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South Carolina’s Milaysia Fulwiley stunned fans (including Magic Johnson) with a ridiculous behind-the-back finish

It’s early, but in a big game, Milaysia Fulwiley looked like the next great South Carolina player.

It’s too early to say yet, but Milaysia Fulwiley just might be the next South Carolina women’s basketball player that we spend a whole lot of time talking about, like we did with Aliyah Boston and A’ja Wilson before her.

In her collegiate debut on Monday against Notre Dame in Paris, France, Fulwiley – ranked as the 13th-best prospect in the 2023 class by EPSN – entered the game midway through the first quarter and proceeded to take over. The 5-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American stole passes, dropped dimes, swished 3-pointers and made jaw-dropping plays.

By the end of the third quarter, South Carolina led a fellow ranked opponent by 25 points and Fulwiley was a big reason why, as the South Carolina native finished the game with 17 points, six assists and six steals.

But there was one play in the second quarter that made everyone watching jump out of their seat, when Fulwiley took the ball coast-to-coast and wrapped it behind her back before finishing at the rim with ease.

The 5 best women’s college basketball non-conference games, including Iowa vs. Virginia Tech

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark vs. Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore? Yes, please.

The 2023-24 women’s college basketball season is just around the corner. The season begins on Nov. 6, headlined by a matchup overseas in Paris, France between two powerhouse big-brand programs in Notre Dame and South Carolina.

That meeting between the Gamecocks and Irish will of course be a must-watch clash, but there are several other notable non-conference games in November and December that are worth keeping an eye on. Contests like the rematch between LSU and Virginia Tech should help fans put expectations in perspective and give folks a better idea of who the contenders and pretenders are going to be this season.

Aside from the two games mentioned above, here are five other must-watch non-conference games:

6 women’s basketball transfers we’re excited about this season, from Te-Hina Paopao to Celeste Taylor

And of course, Hailey Van Lith’s arrival at LSU is mentioned here too.

The offseason storylines in women’s college basketball were dominated by the transfer portal. We speculated about who was going where, how a player would impact a team’s hopes and goals, and which players were the best fit in their new homes.

Some transfers dramatically altered the expectations we have for teams this year, while others solidified them. Take LSU for example: with Angel Reese returning, a lot of folks thought they would have a chance to repeat, but after adding Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, anything short of doing so would be a massive disappointment for the Tigers.

Here are the players were most excited about seeing in new uniforms this year: