This week in WCBB 12/24/14 (one day late)

Welcome to my weekly look at the world of WCBB.



Here is the link to both polls on ESPN

Let's take a look at the top ten week in review. I'm using the coaches poll as it's the most current.

#1 South Carolina (12-0)
Last week #1

Last Week: @ Hampton W 69-49, vs Cent Michigan W 80-45, vs Liberty W 84-44
This Week: No games scheduled.

Leading Scorer Tiffany Mitchell - 14.8
Leading Rebounder Alana Coates - 8.8
Leading Assists Khadijah Sessions, Tina Roy - 3.4 

South Carolina did as expected with three easy games last week, winning handily. Tiffany Mitchell had a good week averaging 17 points for the three games. Alana Coates averages a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the week.

They have 3 games after the first of the year with bottom rung SEC teams before their next challenge on 1/11 against Kentucky.  
 



#2 UCONN (8-1)
Last week #2

Last Week: vs DePaul W 98-64, vs UCLA W 86-50
This Week: vs. SMU Dec 27, vs Duke Dec 29  

Leading Scorer Breanna Stewart- 18.0
Leading Rebounder Kiah Stokes - 9.0
Leading Assists Moriah Jefferson - 4.8

UConn had a terrific weeks, beating both DePaul and UCLA by 30+ points. In both games UConn started a little slow, but that is nothing new for Connecticut in recent years. Stewart played like the POY with 25 and 22 points. Stokes had a coming out party with 14 points, 20 rebounds and 7 blocks.

 

Next up is Duke on Monday. This is an interesting game. Duke seems to be getting it together and they have a lot of talent and size.     

#3 Texas (10-0)
Last week #3

Last Week: vs McNeese State W 76-59, @ Texas A&M W 67-65
This Week: vs Rice Dec 30 

Leading Scorer Kelsey Lang - 13.5
Leading Rebounder Nneka Enemkpali - 9.6
Leading Assists Brady Sanders- 3.0

After dispatching McNeese State fairly easily, they had a terrific game against #5 Texas A&M. With wins against Tennessee and Stanford, Texas has shown themselves to be a true Final Four contender.

Enemkpali had 39 points and 27 rebounds for the week, dominating in both games. The loss of Akins, their freshman star to an injury hasn't slowed them down at all.

Their only challenges for the rest of the season are two games each against Baylor, WV and Oklahoma State.

#4 Notre Dame (11-1)
Last week #4

Last Week: vs Saint Joseph's W 64-50
This Week: @ UCLA Dec 28

Leading Scorer Jewell Loyd - 22.6
Leading Rebounder Taya Reimer - 6.3
Leading Assists Lindsay Allen - 3.9

 Notre Dame only had one game this week, against 3-7 St. Josephs. The Irish welcomed injured freshman Brianna Turner back to the lineup and she didn't disappoint with 19 points. The game was surprisingly close as it was only a 10 point lead with 5 minutes left but ND pulled away at the end.

 

They play UCLA this week and this should be an interesting game. Lots of young talent on UCLA and they will be home after a long road trip. Notre Dame has a tough January with games against 3 ranked teams.   



#5 Texas A&M (11-1)
Last week #5

Last Week: vs Texas L 67-65
This Week: @ Wash Dec 29

Leading Scorer Courtney Walker - 15.7
Leading Rebounder Achiri Ade - 7.5
Leading Assists Jordan Jones - 6.7

In a terrific game against Texas, A&M lost in the last minute after leading several times during the game. Jordan Jones and Courtney Williams were great with 21 and 19 points respectively. This loss only hurts for a minute and I'm guessing they will move on. Gary Blair will make sure of that.

 

This week is a road game against a 10-1 Washington team who has played a really weak schedule to build that nice record. We will see how A&M bounces back after that tough loss to Texas.

 

#6 Baylor (10-1)
Last week #9

Last Week: vs Syracuse W 74-72, @ Michigan State W 84-65
This Week: vs Prairie View Dec 29

Leading Scorer Nina Davis - 22.8
Leading Rebounder Nina Davis - 8.5
Leading Assists Niya Johnson - 8.7

 

Baylor made a big jump, from #9 to #6 with wins against two ranked teams in (at the time) #22 Syracuse and #21 Michigan State. Led by star Nina Davis and her 24 points and 17 rebounds, Baylor won a close one against Syracuse. Niya Johnson had a double double with 15 points and 12 assists against Michigan State, bringing them back from a big deficit early to win going away.

 

Baylor has maybe two top 5 players at their positions. Davis has to be the best undersized power forward in WCBB and certainly top 5 overall. And Niya Johnson leads the country in assists and has to be one of the best point guards in the country. These two will take Baylor far this season.  

 

Next week is another cupcake for getting into conference play.   

 

#7 Louisville (11-1)
Last week #10

Last Week: vs Old Dominion W 100-46, @ Grand Canyon W 65-51, @ California W 70-57
This Week: vs Evansville Dec 29

Leading Scorer Mariya Moore- 14.0
Leading Rebounder Sara Hammond - 6.8
Leading Assists Mariya Moore- 3.7

Louisville is a team that just keeps getting better and better. Their two leading scorers are freshman and they haven't lost a beat after losing so many contributors last year. Three wins with one against the then top 25 teams, California, moved them up 3 spots. Hammond's senior leadership has been instrumental in their success but the two Freshman, Hines-Allen and Moore are the future AND the present.      

 

After the last OOC game on Monday, Louisville gets into their ACC schedule. They do play four ranked teams in their in-conference games in Syracuse, Duke, UNC and Notre Dame, but they only play they once and they play Pitt and Virigina twice. The schedule makers were kind to this team. If they can split those four game, a #1 seed is not out of the question.    

 

#8 North Carolina (11-1)
Last week #7

Last Week: vs Oregon State L 70-55, vs Maine W 65-36, vs Elon W 85-67
This Week: vs Albany Dec 30

Leading Scorer Alisha Gray - 17.8
Leading Rebounder Stephanie Mavunga - 8.2
Leading Assists Latifah Coleman - 3.5



UNC had a tough loss to Oregon State at home. Not good for the resume. But the good news is that this game really looks like an anomaly. Shooting 27% and going 1-14 on three pointers is not something we will likely see again from this team. To their credit, they bounced back with easy wins against two teams they should hammer, and they did.

Gray is another sophomore (Baylor's Davis is another) that is as good as anyone in her class and is one of the top players in the country. Along with Gray, Mavunga was the only other Tarheel that showed up for the Oregon game.

Another creampuff (I'm tired of cupcakes) this week with a game against Albany before their conference schedule begins with 5 games against ranked teams (2 against Duke). 

 

#9 Maryland (9-2)
Last week #11

Last Week: @ Coppin State W 110-51
This Week: vs Ohio State Dec 29

Leading Scorer Lauren Mincy - 13.5
Leading Rebounder Brionna Jones - 6.4
Leading Assists Lauren Mincy - 3.4

Maryland had an easy time with a 69 point win against Coppin State. Against the overmatched Eagles, the Terps had six players in double digit points. This game was good in that it allowed Maryland to give plenty of minutes to everyone and work on a few things. But not much more than that.

I'm not sure about this team being a top ten team after watching them play against Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago. They play Rutgers, MSU and Nebraska twice in their conference schedule. All ranked and good enough to beat Maryland in maybe the toughest Big Ten conference schedules.


 

 

#10 Duke (8-3)
Last week #13

Last Week: vs Oklahoma W 92-72, vs UMass Lowell W 95-48, vs Kentucky W 89-68
This Week: @UConn Dec 29

Leading Scorer Elizabeth Williams - 14.0
Leading Rebounder Elizabeth Williams - 10.4
Leading Assists Kai'la Johnson - 4.3

Duke had a fabulous week in beating Oklahoma (down year for them) and top ten (not any more) Kentucky. Duke just destroyed Kentucky, using their height advantage to win the battle of the boards and shoot a very high percentage from the floor. They played great team ball in that game with 19 assists on their 29 baskets.

Duke has one last OOC game and this is a big opportunity for Duke to make a statement in their game against UConn on Monday night. It's hard to see them winning, but making a good game of it will go along way in the voter's minds and the minds of the selection committee.
  

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Players of the Week

Alisa Jennings South Florida
18 points 16 rebounds vs North Colorado
23 points 21 rebounds 6 blocks at Penn State

Aliyyah Handford St. Johns
22 points vs Auburn
27 points vs Indiana State


Amanda Zahui Minnesota
17 points 13 rebounds 6 blocks vs Liberty
26 points 13 rebounds 6 blocks vs Central Michigan

Breanna Stewart UConn
25 points vs DePaul
22 points vs UCLA

 Crystal Bradford Central Michigan
20 points vs South Carolina
27 points 8 rebounds 7 assists vs Minnesota

Jasmine Nwajei Wagner
32 points vs Yale
28 points vs Stoney Brook

Jillian Alleyne Oregon
16 points 20 rebounds vs Santa Clara
26 points 16 rebounds vs Fresno State

Larryn Brooks Indiana
16 points 9 assists vs Milwaukee
11 points 10 assists vs Oakland

Season Individual Leaders

(top 5)

Points per Game

Kelsey Plum Washington 26.1
Alexsis Hayword St. Francis PA 26.0

Kelsey Mitchell Ohio State 25.9
Precious Hall James Madison University 24.5

Damika Martinez Iona 24.4
 

Rebounds per Game

Vicky Mcintyre Oral Roberts 14.7

Jillian Alleyne Oregon 14.6

Ruvanna Campbell Illinois-Chicago 13.6

Joy Adam Iona 12.8

Betnijha Landey Rutgers 12.8

Assists per Game

Niya Johnson Baylor 8.7
Brittay Boyd California 8.3

Almesha Jones Morehead State 8.1
Nikki Moody Iowa State 7.4

Angela Mickens James Madison 7.3  

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