Source: https://womenshoopsblog.wordpress.com/tag/jennifer-azzi/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 16:21:14+00:00

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You know I have to post this. I.Have.To!
Oh, yes, ‘ware the rabbits: #12 South Dakota State held on to upset #5 Miami, 74-71.
It is me, or is no one paying attention to the job Moren’s done at Indiana? Maybe the 9-seed taking down #8 Georgia, 62-58, for the program’s first Tourney win in 33 years will get folks to sit up and notice.
And a freshman shall lead them… to an upset win. #10 Missouri toppled #7 BYU behind Sophie Cunningham’s 20pts.
Pirates got Duked. #9 Duquesne earned their program’s first NCAA victory with authority. They take down #8 Seton Hall by 21.
Nice showing by #10 Penn as #7 Washington needed every minute and made shot by Walton, Plum and Atchley to secure the 12-pt win.
Jordin Canada had a tough shooting night, but so did the #14 Wahine. #3 UCLA survived and advanced with a 66-50 win.
No style points will be awarded, as #11 Colorado State gave #6 South Florida fits. The Bulls escape with a 48-45 win.
Movin’ on. #6 Oklahoma dispatches #11 Purdue with ease, if not elegance.
Despite having to suspend two players (dumb, dumb, dumb), #4 Texas A&M handled #13 Missouri State, 74-65, behind Anriel Howard’s NCAA Tournament record 27 rebounds.
For a moment it looked like the #12 Blue Raiders wanted to mess up the Prez’s bracket… but the #5 Florida State’s Romero got the band together and the Seminoles earned a 17pt win.
Getting run over by the Wildcats shouldn’t diminish the season #14 UNC-Asheville has had… but you know they wished for a better showing. #3 Kentucky by 54.
#2 Maryland earned every single bit of their 16-point win over #15 Iona.
Notre Dame was hitting on all cylinders and then eased off the gas a tad as they cruised to a 95-61 win over North Carolina A&T.
No rust for the rested. Yes, UConn had huge first quarter, scoring-wise, against Robert Morris, but did you notice Stewart’s 8 steals? Or Coach Sal Buscaglia’s heartfelt post game press conference?
#2 Texas couldn’t shake #15 Alabama State in the first half. Different story in the second as the Longhorns , 86-42.
Fun/not fun? #4 Tara Vanderveer over #13 Jennifer Azzi, 85-58.
With one round down and five to go, what else did we learn from Saturday’s 16 games?
Ranked among the top baker’s dozen of teams in the nation in the preseason, Texas A&M and Florida State took the court in November with no worse than Sweet 16 expectations.
They will meet Monday in the second round of the NCAA tournament, which means only one will get to the Sweet 16. For stretches Saturday, it wasn’t clear either would get even that opportunity.
Hofstra (CAA) over Villanova (Big East), 82-74.
San Diego (WCC) over IUPUI (Summit), 59-48.
Northern Iowa (MVC) over Drake (MVC), 64-58.
Washington Mystics fans know the legacy of Chamique Holdsclaw, the WNBA great who left her mark on D.C. The former #1 overall pick recently returned to the area to discuss her current work as a mental health advocate.
A new documentary, “Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw,” chronicles her rise to stardom and struggles with mental disorders, providing a platform to discuss the impact of mental health issues in sports. The film won Best Documentary Film honors at the 2016 DC Independent Film Festival.
Hayley Milon caught up with Holdsclaw to discuss her journey.
A college basketball game without a band present … it’s just not the same, is it? Drake’s women’s team was facing that, though, for its WNIT opener Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa. The school is on spring break, and the Drake band members aren’t on campus.
However, Drake got a capable substitute: The Kansas band was in Des Moines for the Jayhawks’ NCAA men’s tournament game Thursday afternoon.
The band helped! Drake (MVC) over Sacred Heart (NEC), 95-59.
Road-weary UT Rio Grande (WAC) got swept away by TCU (Big12), 97-73.
Arkansas State (Sun Belt) chomped on Southern (SWAC), 68-45.
It was a tight one, as short-handed Nebraska (Big10) fell to Northern Iowa (MVC), 64-62.
Ball State (MAC) went on the road and topped Iowa (Big Ten), 77-72.
Arkansas Little-Rock (Sun Belt) and St. Louis (A-10) went down to the wire, but… Billikens win! 70-69.
And I swoop! Tennessee-Martin (Ohio Valley) came back to defeat Memphis (American), 79-73. It’s the programs first post-season win since 1999.
Dayton (A-10) fell to Western Kentucky (C-USA), 89-72.
San Diego (WCC) escapes Northwestern (Big 10), 69-65. The Wildcats scored 8 in the first and 35 in the fourth. Coach must be banging his head against the wall.
No, really, remember when they stunk? IUPUI (Summit) over Central Michigan (MAC), a tough program, 63-55.
Bucknell (Patriot) over Akron (MAC), 74-70. The Bison are the first team from the Patriot League to ever win a game in the WNIT, while also posting the program’s first victory in a national postseason tournament.
Gonzaga (WCC) chewed up undermanned UC Riverside (Big West), 88-54.
Oregon (Pac12) over Long Beach State (Big West) by 8.
After all the waiting and working and wondering, Oregon coach Kelly Graves finally got the glimpse of his team’s future that he’d been looking for the past two weeks.
And he liked it so much that Graves told his rejuvenated Ducks to go play couch potatoes for a day like the rest of America as their reward.
Welcome to March Madness, ladies. WNIT style.
Nice showing against a program that in no joke: Marshall (C-USA) falls to Ohio (MAC), 76-68.
Eastern Michigan (MAC) led wire to wire, and eked out an away win over Saint Mary’s (WCC), by one, 74-73.
Graduate transfer Chanise Baldwin’s ffensive rebound and put back with 1.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter lifted the Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team to a 74-73 victory over Saint Mary’s College in the opening round of the WNIT Thursday, March 17. The Eagles led by as many as nine, but needed Baldwin’s late game heroics to propel the Green and White into the second round of the tournament.
In a back-and-forth battle, it was Abilene Christian (Southland) who blinked first. UTEP (C-USA) won, 66-62.
Virginia Tech (ACC) over Elon (CAA), 68-59.
Villanova (Big East) ousted Liberty (Big South), 67-51.
Hofstra (CAA) over Harvard (Ivy), 76-50.
Even with the loss of top-scorer Mikayla Venson, Virginia (ACC) managed a two-point win over VCU (A10).
Georgia Tech (ACC) stung Mercer (Southern), 73-56.
Rutgers (Big East Big 10) last-second-shot-ed a win over Georgetown (Old Big East), 57-55.
An improving Wake Forest (ACC) held off Charlotte (C-USA), 72-69.
Asked to remember the last time they talked on the phone before they found out they would be matched up in the NCAA tournament, both Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and University of San Francisco coach Jennifer Azzi came up with the same answer.
“Probably just a few weeks ago,” Azzi said.
There will be no talking this week.
Bonnie and Karlie Samuelson, both of whom played at Stanford, are as responsible as anyone for making Lou the player she is.
And for the past 14 years, all those who have said that have been wrong.
Why, oh, why, do Illinois residents overlook the DePaul Blue Demons (25-8), who’ve achieved a berth in the NCAA Women’s Tournament for 14 CONSECUTIVE YEARS… also, their 21st overall appearance since 1990?
Recently named the ACC Player of the Year, Hines-Allen registered a pair of double-doubles to open the postseason and hit 19 of her 33 shots.
BTW: Division II has reached the Elite Eight.
The big shockers were seeing #1 Union, #1 Azusa Pacific and #1 Limestone go down in the first round. #1 Ashland feel in the second round. #1 Emporia State lost in the 3rd round.
Division III’s Final Four is scheduled for March 19th, Capitol University, Columbus Ohio.
Tufts (27-3) v. Wartburg (23-7), 5pm.
Amsberry’s Nine will do for a working title. Wartburg College’s surprise run into the NCAA Division III women’s basketball Final Four has the makings of a green-lit sports movie.
The plot is a season salvaged off life support by a group of athletes that had moved on before reuniting to accomplish an ambitious goal.
The script has more than final credits left to be written.
For the past two years, Tufts had gotten it done at home in the postseason. The Jumbos had qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning the NESCAC championship, earned home court advantage and fought their way through dominant first-round wins and overtime thrillers alike to reach the NCAA Div. III championship semifinals, the Final Four.
This year was different. Tufts fell by one point in a heartbreaking loss to Amherst in the NESCAC championship but still earned an at-large bid.
You already know what’s the same about the defending champs, so let’s look at what’s different about Thomas More this season.
It all starts with a change in hashtag philosophy.
If Amherst head women’s basketball coach G.P. Gromacki hadn’t been persistent when reaching out to junior twins Ali and Meredith Doswell during the recruiting process, no telling what he would be doing this weekend.
I’m no bracket expert, so I’ll defer to Charlie who, in the end, defers to the Selection Committee… but DePaul’s loss popped a couple of bubbles and so, methinks, did the Dons stunning upset of BYU. “No. 6 seed San Francisco rallied from a 15-point first-quarter deficit, took its first lead with 17.2 seconds left and held on to knock off the Cougars, 70-68.
Not that Azzi was necessarily surprised by what her team was able to do.
Longtime readers of the WHB know we’ve been tracking Jennifer Azzi’s effort to rebuild the San Francisco program. Clearly, the Dons have gotten better under her leadership… but the WCC is (as ye longtime readers know) no joke. There’s Gonzaga, then BYU, then Saint Mary’s and now Santa Clara… so breaking into the NCAA is bloody challenging. But, her team met the challenge and are going dancin’ for the first time since 1997.
The former point guard for the Utah Starzz of the WNBA outcoached ex-Utah Jazz forward Jeff Judkins at the end of a game that left Azzi “absolutely, honestly, speechless right now,” she said.
The Dons took down each of the WCC’s top three seeds in reverse order — and less spectacular fashion as they went along, actually. USF’s run began with Taylor Proctor’s banked-in 3-pointer to force overtime against San Diego, then the Dons topped Saint Mary’s and BYU by two points each.
Summit Final: It was a tight battle between the South Dakotas. In the end the Jackrabbits upset the Coyotes, 61-55. That’s SDSU’s 7th trip to the NCAA in the last 8 years. BTW: A total of 8,647 fans packed the Denny Sanford Premier Center on Tuesday afternoon, setting a record for a women’s Summit League championship.
Ivy: Penn, on Princeton’s home court, claimed their spot in this year’s Big Dance.
The Princeton women’s basketball team has lost seven Ivy League games in the last seven seasons. Penn won its second Ivy title in three seasons Wednesday night at Jadwin Gym, beating the Tigers, 62-60, in a game the Quakers led from late in the first quarter until the final two minutes. Penn gave up the lead for exactly 15 seconds, got it back on a three-point play from Anna Ross, the most skilled player on the court, and held it to the wire.
Big East Final: I know the ESPN blurb says “St. John’s wins Big East title for 1st time since ’88” and it’s great for the Red Storm and New York basketball… but the headline is a bit disingenuous, dontcha think? (Yes, I’m still bitter the Old Big East is gone.) BUT, kudos to Creighton and congrats to St. John’s – ya took down the top dog and then earned a spot at in the Dance.
Big 12 Final: So, how good is Baylor lookin’? Ask Kim.
Alexis Jones, who scored 16 points for the Lady Bears, was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after averaging 15.7 points and 7.7 assists in three games. Beatrice Mompremier scored 15 points, and Niya Johnson added 11 for Baylor (33-1), which swept the conference’s regular-season and tournament titles for the sixth consecutive year.
American Final: Stompity, stomp, stomp by UConn.
Oh, boy, opponents must love reading they have to look forward to.
There are seasons when conference tournaments add some intrigue — if not downright doubt — about the projected No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. But this was not one of those years.
For all practical purposes, UConn, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor had their top seeds wrapped up for the Big Dance even before any of them tipped off in their respective league tournaments.
But there might have been just a little uncertainty raised about how they would play in the NCAA tournament if one of them had looked a little shaky these past few days. That didn’t happen.
C-USA– First Round: North Texas (11-18, 5-13), who got our attention early in the season, faltered down the home stretch. That stop them from taking down Florida Atlantic (14-16, 6-12), 79-74. It’s the program’s first post-season win since 2011-12.
C-USA – First Round: There’s lots of really upsetting news swirling around Florida International (5-25, 2-16). But, under interim head coach Tiara Malcom, the managed to pull it together and surprise Texas San Antonio (10-19, 6-12), 61-56.
Welcome back JJ!! It’s not quite Willis Reed-esque – she actually made an impact on the court (10 points, 15 rebounds,six blocks) – but what a lift for George Washington to have Jonquel Jones return for the A-10 Championship game. The Colonials brought a smothering defense to the fourth quarter and shut down Duquesne, earning the 63-60 win. Kudos to coach Tsipis and his “other” players for keeping the team on track in Jones’ absence. With a healthy Jones? Hmmm….
Mercer tried to crawl back in the fourth, but Chattanooga was too much for them. Mocs over the Bears 65-57. It’s their fourth SoCon title in a row. Keep an eye on both these teams next year – especially Mercer – there was only one senior on the court.
#2 Notre Dame earned its third consecutive ACC championship, getting an early lead on Syracuse and then moving on to a 11pt win. Next!
#3 South Carolina handled #16 Mississippi State, 66-52, to earn their second straight SEC title.
Don’t let the fourth quarter fool ya: The Ruth was on fire… and #8 Oregon State absolutely decimated #12 UCLA and claimed its 1st Pac 12 title.
#5 Maryland won its second connective Big 10 title by 16.
In the Big 12 semis it was #4 Baylor by 27 and #6 Texas by 16.
Sheer artistry. UConn in March (& April) over the last four years is just basketball at its best. Play after “Wow!” play. Defensive rotations that are smooth, switching and smothering an opponent. This year the Huskies feature a defense with 6-4 Katie Lou Samuelson at the top of the arc, and 6-5 Breanna Stewart blocking shots in the paint.
The opening minutes of Sunday’s American Athletic Tournament semifinal game were not quite perfect. UConn actually turned the ball over on its first possession. The Huskies followed that with nine buckets on the next nine possessions.
On edit: To be clear, I’m not dismissing the quality of the play by the victors. I just want to highlight that there are a big handful of teams giving it their all – and playing quality ball – outside of ESPN’s view. Take a moment to read about ’em. Or, if you’re in the area, catch a game.
MAAC final. It’s a Marist-free affair as Quinnipiac goes up against Iona.
WCC semis: If you’re in Las Vegas…. Santa Clara v. BYU and St. Mary’s v. San Francisco. It would be kinda cool if it was coach Payne v. coach Azzi. Talk about program builders!
Summit semis: Congrats, Omaha! In your first conference tourney, you took down the 3rd seed, IUPUI. Lucky you (that’s NY sarcasm), you’ve got the Wabbits next. In the other bracket, it’s South Dakota v. Oral Roberts.
AAC: #UConn v. #20 USF. The Bulls are playing the Huskies for the third time this season. If Kitija Laksa, conference Freshman of the Year, can’t return from her high ankle sprain, it’s tough to see a different result.
Big 12: #4 Baylor v. #6 Texas. Last time, the Bears mauled the Longhorns by 26. The previous time, by 13. Has Texas gotten tougher?
Ivy: Tuesday features Princeton v. Penn for a trip to the Big Dance. We’ve had our eye on this game since for.ev.er.
America East: We’ll have to wait until Friday for the 1/2 matchup between Albany and Maine. The Black Bears got a battle from Stony Brook, while Shareesha Richards led the Great Danes to a 36pt wins. Richards’ 33-point performance helped break her own Albany single-season scoring record of 694 points set last season. Richards is averaging 23.5 points per game.
First, Minato returns for her second appearance on the podcast; her first was a freshman when she left the California sun for upstate New York, following a family history of military experience. Fast forward four years, and Minato is now the leading scorer in the history of the Patriot League, breaking Molly Creamer’s record last night. On senior night, Minato became the first active player in Army West Point women’s basketball history to have her number retired and raised to the rafters.
The Black Knights finished the regular season 26-2, tied with Bucknell for top spot in the Patriot League and the top seed in the conference tournament due to tie-breakers. That means they will host all of their tournament games, where they are 14-0 for the season. They are a senior heavy team, and have been to either the WNIT or NCAA tournament each year of their careers.

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