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What a great freshman class!!!!
Maybe there have been other great freshmen classes before in WCBB. But I certainly can't remember any as wonderful as this class.
Of course you have UConn's great freshmen. Bueckers, Edwards and Muhl. Amazing how good they are. But there are others at various colleges around the country.
Cameron Brink at Stamford. 6'5" and lean, but not skinny, she is coming into her own. Almost 10 PPG, 6.5 RPG, Her defense is impressive with almost 3 blocks per game. She has started the last 11 games for the Cardinal.
Te-Hina Poapoa at Oregon has been very solid. She has started every game for Oregon, taking over the point for the amazing Sabrina Inoescu. She averages 10.2 PPG and 4.4 RPG. Sadly, she is in a walking boot with a foot/ankle injury and will probably miss the PAC12 tournament.
Charlisse Leger-Walker at Washington State has done a great job coming in to start every game and lead Washington State in scoring at 19.4 PPG. She has taken a ton of shots but with the team she is on, she has had to do that.
Caitlin Clark of Iowa. Do I have to say more? She is on the all the post season lists. She is second in the country in scoring at around 26 PPG. Great passer and solid rebounder. Just an all around great player.
Kamilla Cardoso at Syracuse is also impressive as a freshman big. It's not easy to perform well as a post player freshman. She has started all but one game. She is scoring at a 14.5 PPG clip and grabs 8.5 RPG. And at 6'7"she has blocked almost 3 blocks per game. And she alters a ton more.
Diamond Johnson of Rutgers has flown under the radar because of Rutgers lack of games. But they just moved into the Top 25 and Johnson is a big part of that averaging 18.9 PPG and shooting threes at 49.5%.
There are others as well. Maryland's Angela Reese was injured most of the season but she is back and playing well. Emily Ryan is averaging 5.7 assists per game for Iowa State.
Maybe the players are just getting better in general. Exciting for WCBB!!!!
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Aaliyah Edwards was named the Big Easr freshman of the week after her 24 point and 14 rebound performance at Butler. She averaged 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds for the week. She has taken her game to another level the last few weeks. Maybe the most consistent performer for the Huskies.
Congrats to Ms. Edwards. There are many more awards in her future.
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From a UConn freshman to a UConn recruit that will be a freshman next year.
Caroline Ducharme is one hell of a player. She can do it all. Now, this video highlight clip is against a pretty week team but 47 points is 47 points. Love her game! She is No. 13 in white.
47 points last night... Not sure if #UConn fans really know what they are getting. she has range and can shoot but she’s just a smart player on the court who can do a little bit of everything. But the range..... is deep and ITS REAL! @WomensHoopz @alexaphilippou @c_ducharme3 #lw pic.twitter.com/sihkT3CAOr
— lwproductions (@lwproductions4) March 1, 2021
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A great group of 11 players making up the semi-finalist list for the Naismith Trophy. And so excited to see Paige Bueckers there.
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Any time UConn doesn't win by 30+ points, critics say they played a lousy game. Marquette lost last night by a score of 63-53, but the same critics say "they really took it to UConn" and "Marquette just showed how to beat UConn." I disagree with the critics. Consider:
1. UConn played lousy - This game was no masterpiece, but it was a tough, gutsy win for a young team at the end of a weird and taxing season. Marquette came in 17-4 and on a 5 game winning streak. They are a good team that have been playing well lately. The Huskies' defense played very well. They held Marquette to 53 points, 19 points below their season average. Their leading scorer, Selena Lott was held to 6 points on 3-12 shooting. Marquette had 11 points in the final period under UConn's smothering defense. Blame UConn's offense for making it ugly, but the defense played very well.
2. Marquette "took it to UConn" - Marquette is a very physical team. It seemed there was physical contact in this game that all season was called a foul, but not tonight. Can you say "moving screens"? Paige in particular was held, grabbed, bumped and mauled. Despite the physical play, UConn outrebounded Marquette 43-25 and dominated the paint, 40 points to 22. The Huskies had 18 offensive boards. The Huskies blocked 8 shots to Marquette's 1. Who took it to whom?
3. Blue print for beating UConn - Marquette shot 40% from the field and 33% from three point range. Is that how to beat UConn? Their leading scorer was held to 6 points and they turned the ball over 15 times. Is that how to beat UConn? In the final period, Marquette shot 4-13 or 31%. Is that how to beat the Huskies? Paige Bueckers went 6-17 and UConn still won fairly easily. Probably shouldn't count on that happening too often...
It was a good game between two good teams, but UConn was better throughout. Why call it anything else?
Go Huskies..!!
1. UConn played lousy - This game was no masterpiece, but it was a tough, gutsy win for a young team at the end of a weird and taxing season. Marquette came in 17-4 and on a 5 game winning streak. They are a good team that have been playing well lately. The Huskies' defense played very well. They held Marquette to 53 points, 19 points below their season average. Their leading scorer, Selena Lott was held to 6 points on 3-12 shooting. Marquette had 11 points in the final period under UConn's smothering defense. Blame UConn's offense for making it ugly, but the defense played very well.
2. Marquette "took it to UConn" - Marquette is a very physical team. It seemed there was physical contact in this game that all season was called a foul, but not tonight. Can you say "moving screens"? Paige in particular was held, grabbed, bumped and mauled. Despite the physical play, UConn outrebounded Marquette 43-25 and dominated the paint, 40 points to 22. The Huskies had 18 offensive boards. The Huskies blocked 8 shots to Marquette's 1. Who took it to whom?
3. Blue print for beating UConn - Marquette shot 40% from the field and 33% from three point range. Is that how to beat UConn? Their leading scorer was held to 6 points and they turned the ball over 15 times. Is that how to beat UConn? In the final period, Marquette shot 4-13 or 31%. Is that how to beat the Huskies? Paige Bueckers went 6-17 and UConn still won fairly easily. Probably shouldn't count on that happening too often...
It was a good game between two good teams, but UConn was better throughout. Why call it anything else?
Go Huskies..!!
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No. South Florida 65 Central Florida 62 - A 65-62 win over UCF had many anxious moments in the final minute. The Bulls led by 11 with 34 seconds left only to have the Knights make it a one-point game with 1.6 seconds remaining. But they held on and a championship celebration ensued at midcourt. Elisa Pinzan, who led USF (15-2/13-1) with 18 points, hit a pair of free throws to account for the final margin. A three-point attempt by UCF’s Alisha Lewis (game-high 27 points) clanked off the front of the rim as time expired. Elena Tsineke scored 10 of her 12 points in a first quarter in which the Bulls took an 18-5 lead. Fernandez’s team led by as many as 22 in the second quarter and took a 34-17 lead at the half. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Knights and a loss Tuesday night would have meant a winner-take-all matchup at UCF on Thursday night to conclude the regular season.
No. 25 Rutgers 74 Penn State 56 - Ariel Guiranates led Rutgers to a win over Penn State with 21 points with Freshman Diamond Johnson adding in 14 points. Senior Niya Beverley led Penn State with 20 points and dished seven assists. Sophomore Anna Camden followed with 14 points. The first half was a tale of two quarters with Penn State getting off to a an 11-0 start in the first four minutes. PSU went on to hit five of its first seven three-point attempts en route to a 21-9 lead just seven minutes into the game. A Rutgers trey ended the term, but Penn State's hot shooting allowed the Lady Lions to take a 21-12 lead into the second quarter. The Scarlet Knights controlled the second quarter as Rutgers answered right back with an 11-0 streak to open the term and take its first lead of the game at 23-21 with 7:23 left in the first half. Camden's third three-pointer of the first half had Penn State back on top at 28-27 two minutes later, but Rutgers scored 10 of the final 15 points of the quarter to take a 37-33 lead into halftime. Penn State struggled to find its rhythm in the opening minutes of the third quarter as Rutgers surged ahead 50-35 six minutes in. But the momentum swung the Lady Lions' way in the final four minutes of the term as a Camden jumper sparked a 10-2 PSU run to close the term. Beverley converted a pair of and-ones during the stretch as Penn State pulled back within seven at 52-45 heading into the final stanza. Rutgers grabbed the momentum right back in the fourth quarter and Penn State wasn't able to overcome the deficit despite a trio of three-pointers in the final minutes as the Scarlet Knights grabbed the 74-56 victory.
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