Women’s Basketball Daily Briefing — Nov. 15, 2021

(All times in Eastern)

Daily Briefing Watch List, Monday, Nov. 15*

Must-watch

RV South Dakota State @ #12 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+

Good games

RV South Dakota @ Drake, 7 p.m., ESPN+

RV DePaul @ #23 Texas A&M, 8 p.m., SEC Network+

Also watchable

Troy @ Mercer, 7 p.m., ESPN+

Sickos game

#21 South Florida @ #15 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network+

Pac-12 or Big 10 on national television

None

Daily Briefing: Sunday, Nov. 14 recap

#2 UConn: 95-80 win over Arkansas. The Razorbacks drew within six in the mid-second quarter, but Husky point guard Paige Bueckers scored 28 of her career-high 34 thereafter to pull away. Bueckers did that on 15-19 shooting (0-1 3pt.) with six rebounds, four assists, two seals, two blocks, no turnovers, and markedly improved defense, without ever hitting the bench; off-ball Christyn Williams scored 18 points on 6-12 from the field (6-11 FT); wing Evina Westbrook had 15 points (including 3-5 3pt.), eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals; Ohio State transfer big Dorka Juhasz made her UConn debut, scoring three points on 1-4 FG (0-2 3pt.) in 13 minutes; combo guard Azzi Fudd — the unanimous No. 1 freshman in the country — scored seven points in her collegiate debut on 3-7 shooting (1-4 3pt.) but struggled defensively; wing Caroline Ducharme — the consensus No. 10 freshman in the country — made her first entry into a box score with a turnover and a foul in four minutes. Razorback combo guard Amber Ramirez had 20 points on 8-17 shooting (3-6 3pt.), while Oregon State transfer wing Sasha Goforth made her debut for her hometown team, scoring 17 points (6-17 FG) with five rebounds. Arkansas had its third different starting five in three games this season, with three of their highly-touted freshmen — Jersey Wolfenbarger, Emrie Ellis, and Samara Spencer, the consensus Nos. 13, 23, and 84 recruits in the Class of 2021 — coming off the bench; Ashlyn Sage, the consensus No. 111, did not play after averaging 8.0 minutes across the Razorbacks’ first two games.

#3 Stanford, #25 Texas: The Longhorns beat the Cardinal 61-56. Stanford led by three with seven minutes left, before Texas scored 12 unanswered points. A truly ugly game, the teams combined to shoot 36.7% from the field, commit 38 fouls, and hit 58.5% from the line. The winning team registered just three assists! Point guard Rori Harmon — the consensus No. 10 freshman in the country — scored a game-high 21 points for the Longhorns on 8-16 shooting; Mississippi State transfer off-ball guard Aliyah Matharu scored 17 off the bench, all in the fourth quarter, and her 4-of-4 from three made her the only player in the game to hit at least half her threes; center Aaliyah Moore — the consensus No. 6 freshman — scored nine points on 4-8 FG with five rebounds and three turnovers; Kyndall Hunter and Latasha Lattimore — the consensus Nos. 20 and 25 freshmen — played a combined seven minutes.

The Cardinal’s only efficient scorer was wing Lexie Hull, who notched a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double on 7-12 shooting (2-5 3pt.) with two steals; big wing Haley Jones scored 15 points on 2-6 from the field (0-2 3pt., 11-13 FT), with five rebounds, five assists, and five turnovers; center Cameron Brink scored 7 points (2-3 FG) with five rebounds and three blocks, and most importantly once again avoided foul trouble; center Ashten Prechtel played the most minutes off Stanford’s bench, with six points on 2-7 three-point shooting.

#4 Maryland: 81-45 win over James Madison. Wing Chloe Bibby scored 19 points on 6-11 from the field (2-6 3pt.); big Angel Reese had a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double on 3-10 shooting (6-8 FT) plus four steals and three turnovers; point guard Ashely Owusu had 14 points and three steals before rolling her ankle; with Owusu leaving, freshman backup point guard Shyanne Sellers played 30 minutes and scored 11 points on 3-7 from three.

#5 N.C. State: 85-52 over Florida. Center Elissa Cunane had an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double on 7-10 shooting with three assists and two steals; off-ball guard Kai Crutchfield had 17 points on 5-7 FG (4-4 3pt.), five rebounds, and four steals. The Gators were led by point guard Kiara Smith’s 16 points on 6-13 shooting.

#8 Indiana, #13 Kentucky: The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats 88-67. Kentucky scored the first four points, and were down 12 by the start of the fourth quarter. Center Mackenzie Holmes’ career-high 29 points (11-15 FG) and seven rebounds led Indiana; combo guard Grace Berger added 19 points on 6-16 shooting (6-8 FT), nine rebounds, four assists, and three turnovers; wing Nicole Cardaño-Hillary had 12 points (3-5 3pt.), six rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and four turnovers. The Wildcats were led by Rhyne Howard’s 23 points (9-18 FG, 2-6 3pt.), nine rebounds, two steals, and three turnovers; freshman point guard Jada Walker had 16 points on 7-13 shooting and two steals off the bench.

#9 Iowa: 82-61 win over Northern Iowa. Point guard Caitlin Clark had a near-triple-double with 25 points (9-22 FG, 4-13 3pt.), 11 rebounds, and seven assists, as well as two steals against four turnovers; wing McKenna Warnock had 17 points on 5-10 shooting and six rebounds; center Monika Czinano had 16 points on 6-12 from the field, five rebounds, and four assists against three turnovers.

#10 Oregon: 84-35 win over Dixie State. Te-Hina Paopao made her season debut after a knee injury, but only played three of her “10-12” anticipated minutes; big Nyara Sabally and off-ball guard Taylor Bigby — the consensus No. 22 freshman in the country — were ruled out with injury but are expected to be back by the Battle 4 Atlantis next weekend; big Kylee Watson had a game- and career-high 16 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field, plus four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and no turnovers — that’s just the third time someone’s had a five-stat slash-line of 16/4/3/3/1 in the Her Hoop Stats era (since 2009) with 100% FG% on as many attempts; center Sedona Prince had 10 points on 4-12 shooting; wing Sydney Parrish had 12 points on 5-10 form the field (1-4 3pt.) and four steals; center Phillipina Kyei — a top international freshman by Blue Star — had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench on 6-11 FG and no turnovers; New Mexico transfer point guard Ahlise Hurst played 34 minutes off the bench after Paopao’s injury, finishing with 17 points on 6-12 shooting (2-6 3pt.) and five assists and one turnover.

#16 Florida State: 79-42 win over Milwaukee. Wing Morgan Jones had 19 points on 9-12 from the field, three assists, and three blocks in minutes; point guard Bianca Jackson scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting, with six assists, and two steals; center River Baldwin and bench big Makayla Timpson — the consensus No. 53 freshman in the country — combined for 24 points on 12-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and five turnovers.

#17 Georgia Tech: 58-45 win over RV Belmont. The Bruins led 15-9 almost nine minutes into the game before being outscored by 19 the rest of the way. The Yellow Jackets were led by point guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen’s 17 points on 6-13 shooting, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals against three turnovers after struggling in their first two games; big Lorela Cubaj had a double-double with 15 points (5-13 FG) and 14 rebounds, with four assists, two steals, and three blocks. Belmont point guard Destinee Wells had 18 points on 6-19 shooting (3-7 3pt.), five rebounds, three assists, and four turnovers.

#17 Ohio St.: 86-48 win over Norfolk State. Big Rebeka Mikulášiková matched her career-high with 19 points on 8-13 shooting (0-3 3pt.) and six rebounds; off-ball guard Jacy Sheldon scored 10 points while 0-1 from the field thanks to a 10-for-10 mark from the line.

#24 Virginia Tech: 81-52 win over George Mason. Starters center Elizabeth Kitley, combo guard Aisha Sheppard, and wings Cayla King and Emily Lytle combined for 67 points on 54% from the field and 57.1% from three; Kitley added ten rebounds, four assists, and four blocks; combo guard Georgia Amoore, the remaining starter, had nine assists and two steals against two turnovers; Lytle replaced wing Azana Baines in the starting lineup, and Baines scored six points (3-4 FG), with seven rebounds, off the bench. Wings Jordan Wakefield and Tamia Lawhorne combined for 30 points on 11-16 shooting (6-10 3pt.) for the Patriots, plus five rebounds and four steals.

RV Notre Dame: 82-56 win over Syracuse in the first ACC conference game of 2021-22. Maddy Westbeld led the Irish with 19 points on 8-13 from the field, six rebounds, and two steals against three turnovers; Notre Dame’s starting backcourt of point guard Olivia Miles and off-ball guard Dara Mabrey combined for 26 points on 9-15 shooting (4-7 3pt.), nine rebounds, 15 assists, and six steals against seven turnovers; combo forward Sam Brunelle scored 17 on 8-17 FG with five rebounds off the bench; wing Sonia Citron — the consensus No. 19 freshman — once again played starter-length minutes; Katlyn Gilbert, a starter in 2019-20 and feature in last year’s rotation, was trimmed out of the nine-player Irish rotation. Maryland transfer center Alaysia Styles led the Orange with 14 points on 6-10 shooting, six rebounds, three steals, and three turnovers.

RV FGCU, RV LSU: The Eagles beat the Tigers 88-74. Big wing Kierstan Bell had 32 points on 13-17 from the field (5-8 3pt.), with 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and five turnovers; point guard Tishara Morehouse added 17 points on 7-17 shooting, five rebounds, six assists, and two turnovers; Clemson transfer off-ball guard Kendall Spray had 17 points on 6-7 FG (5-6 3pt.) and eight rebounds. The Tigers were led by point guard Khayla Pointer’s 23-point, 10-rebound double-double on 9-17 from the field, with five assists against six turnovers in 40 minutes; Texas A&M transfer combo guard Alexis Morris made her LSU debut, scoring 12 points on 5-11 shooting (0-3 3pt.), with five rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and four turnovers in 38 minutes.

RV Missouri State: 56-50 win over North Texas. The teams shot a combined 31.8% from the field and 12.1% from three. It was close the whole way, but Bear big Jasmine Franklin’s double-double on a game-high 13 points and 15 rebounds (4-10 FG) — plus three steals, two blocks, and three turnovers — pulled Missouri State ahead; the Bears’ starting lineup combined for 36 rebounds and 12 steals. The Mean Green were led by big Madi Townley’s 11 points on 5-10 shooting, eight rebounds, and three assists against five turnovers; North Texas’ starters combined for 20 turnovers.

RV Michigan St.: 89-65 win over Niagara. Off-ball guard Alyza Winston and point guard Nia Clouden combined for 15 of the Spartans’ 28 first-quarter points; the former finished with 17 points on 7-15 from the field (2-6 3pt.), six assists, two steals, and no turnovers; the latter had 12 points on 4-7 shooting, plus five rebounds and four assists; point guard DeeDee Hagemann — the consensus No. 30 freshman — and wing Tamara Farquhar combined for 22 points on 8-14 FG with eight rebounds off the bench, with Hagemann adding seven assists and three steals.

Duke: 87-45 over UNC-Wilmington. And it could’ve been by more, except the Blue Devils were playing their 12th woman by the mid-second quarter. off-ball guard Miela Goodchild had 18 points on 7-12 from the field and 4-8 from three, plus four rebounds and four assists without a turnover off the bench; off-ball guard Celeste Taylor had 16 points on 7-9 shooting, six rebounds, and three steals in only 20 minutes; reserve off-ball guard Lee Volker — the consensus No. 151 freshman in the country — had 11 points on 5-9 FG (0-2 3pt.), three assists, and two steals.

Mississippi State: 86-63 win over Alcorn State. The Bulldogs led by just one at the half, but used a 35-point third quarter to pull away. Combo guard JerKaila Jordan scored 26 points on 10-17 shooting (6-10 3pt.), with eight rebounds, three steals, and no turnovers; combo guard Anastasia Hayes had 20 points on 8-20 from the field (0-5 3pt., 4-7 FT) with three assists and three turnovers; point guard Myah Taylor had a bounce-back performance with 15 points on 6-9 FG (3-8 FT), nine rebounds, seven steals, and two turnovers. Rickea Jackson didn’t play after getting injured at the end of Mississippi State’s win over South Dakota State.

Northwestern: 72-46 win over UC-Santa Barbara. Held the Gauchos to four first-quarter points, and Wildcat point guard Veronica Burton finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting (4-6 3pt.), seven assists, and five turnovers.

Wake Forest: 56-45 win over UNC-Greensboro. Despite being the only Demon Deacon worth paying defensive attention to, Jewel Spear keeps wrecking the opposition; the off-ball guard scored 24 points on 6-13 from the field (4-9 3pt., 8-10 FT) with four assists and just one turnover. Through three games, she is averaging 23.3 points and 1.7 steals on 57.5/42.3/76.5 (FG%/3P%/FT%) and 5.7 free-throw attempts. The non-Spear Deacons shot 1-10 from three and had eight assists against 12 turnovers.

Memphis: 89-58 win over SIU Edwardsville. Wright State transfer off-ball guard Emani Jefferson became the first player in the Her Hoop Stats era to score 20 points on just three shots, thanks to a 14-16 mark from the free-throw line. She added seven rebounds and three assists.

Kansas State: 76-44 win over Western Kentucky. Center Ayoka Lee had 33 points on 14-17 shooting with 13 rebounds and four steals.

Washington: 72-65 win over Northern Arizona. Marisa Davis-Jones — the consensus No. 105 freshman — made her collegiate debut, her first contribution to a box score a turnover in two minutes.

USC, Virginia: The Trojans beat the Cavaliers in the Sickos Game of the Day, in which the teams combined to shoot 32.0% from the field, 21.4% from three, and 58.1% from the line. Yikes! The Trojans were led by 16 points from big wing Rayah Marshall — the consensus No. 20 freshman — on 8-14 shooting, nine rebounds, and two steals against just one turnover; center Clarice Akunwafo — the consensus No. 33 freshman — had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double on 3-7 FG with just one turnover. Marquette transfer big Camryn Taylor had six points on 3-13 from the field (0-2 3pt.) with five rebounds and three turnovers for Virginia.

Wisconsin: 61-49 loss to NJIT. Were outscored by 10 in the fourth quarter by the team picked to finish third-to-last in the America East conference. In an era of awful Badger losses, this has an argument for the worst of the past decade.

Cleveland State: 93-53 win over DII Quincy. Held the Hawks scoreless from 4:11 in the third quarter to 5:46 in the fourth. That’s eight minutes and 33 seconds without a Quincy point. Oof. Destiny Leo led the Vikings with 30 points on 10-14 FG (5-8 3pt.).

Daily Briefing: Blown leads edition

Clemson: 78-82 loss to Columbia. The Tigers peaked at a 93.9% win expectancy with a 14-point lead in the early third quarter, thanks to a 31-point second quarter, and remained in the 90%s in win expectancy with a nine-point lead in the early fourth quarter; the Lions went on a go-ahead 10-0 run across the mid-fourth-quarter. Clemson was led by Syracuse transfer point guard Kiara Lewis’ double-double with 20 points on 7-16 FG (6-7 FT) and 11 rebounds, plus three steals and five turnovers; point guard Delicia Washington added 17 points on 7-21 from the field, seven rebounds, and three assists; centers Latrese Saine and Eno Inyang — a top-150 freshman by Blue Star and ASGR — combined for 24 points on 5-7 from the field and 14-20 from the line off the bench, plus 18 rebounds. Wing Sienna Durr and off-ball guard Abbey Hsu led Columbia with a combined 27 points on 14-29 shooting (7-15 3pt.) and 10 rebounds against just one turnover; freshman Kitty Henderson scored 16 points on 6-13 from the field with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three turnovers off the bench; Duke transfer off-ball guard Jaida Patrick shot 1-10 (0-4 3pt.) with three turnovers.

Fairleigh Dickinson: 68-59 loss to Loyola (MD). Had a 95.6% win expectancy with an eight-point lead with less than five minutes to go in regulation, proceeded to allow 10 unanswered points and needed a layup with four seconds left just to force overtime.

San José: 75-65 loss to Sacramento State. Had a 99.4% win expectancy with an 18-point lead near the end of the third quarter. Allowed a 25-6 run to permanently fall behind. Center Isnelle Natabou led the Hornets with a 20-points, 12-rebound double-double on 9-13 from the field.

*The Daily Briefing is written before the AP’s weekly rankings are released.