Women's Nat'l Basketball Report
George Rodecker, National Women's Columnist
John Wooden once said, "To me, the best pure basketball I see today... is among the better women's teams."
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First thought on the way in
I was sitting courtside in between two people at a recent game. One was an evaluator, there to evaluate the referees on behalf of the host conference. The other was a grizzled writer whom I’ve known for over 20 years. Somewhere during the game there was a significant amount of dead time while the referees conferred over a botched call regarding possession and time on the clock. Without the benefit of a camera to show a replay, the three officials were left to fend for themselves. In an unbelievable eight minutes of real time, a decision was still left to be made. The evaluator was unsuccessfully signaling them to move it along. They didn’t see the signal.
I was murmuring under my breath that they seemed clueless. I thought they embarrassed themselves and I thought that they exhibited a loss for the situation. Luckily and significantly, neither opposing coach took any public issue with them. In fact my murmuring got louder and it appeared that I took more issue with the refs than the coaches did. Perhaps it was my desire to get back to the press room for some pepperoni pizza but in any case, the refs took an awful long time to (what I believe) get it right.
And that’s when it struck me. If this was a men’s game, the refs would have taken a ton of abuse, both from the coaches and the fans who would have taken their lead from the coaches.
And, my friends, that is why I will always love WBB. It’s just as competitive as MBB, just a bit more mannerly.
Spotlight
When you are named a team co-captain as a sophomore, it should say
a lot about a player’s ability, character and leadership
traits. Meet Jessica Kuster, a 6-2 sophomore
forward for the Rice Owls of Conference USA.
Kuster, a native of Columbus, Ohio – perhaps one that Ohio State shouldn’t have let get away is putting together an All-American resume early in her second season. Kuster was chosen Conf-USA’s Freshman of the Year along with several other weekly accolades as well as first team All Conference as a freshman!
Rice is currently 8-8, with seven of those eight wins featuring Kuster as the high scorer. A force as well off the glass, she’s put up some lofty double-doubles including opening night at Prairie View A&M: 22 & 18, 31 & 19 against Houston Baptist, 29 & 16 at Chicago State and a whopping 21 point 21 rebound effort at Texas San Antonio.
A 2010 McDonald’s All American candidate, Kuster is averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks this season.
Rice's high hopes for this season can easily be tied to the efforts and successes of this talented and skilled Owl.
Overtime
One of the best kept secrets in the Big Ten Conference is a Parade All-American 5-9 freshman who chose to stay and play close to home by making an in-state commitment.
The 2011 Miss Minnesota Basketball is Rachel Banham, and her impact on Minnesota basketball is being felt – in her first 19 collegiate games. She leads the team in scoring with 15.6 and is second in rebounds with 5.7. Ninth in the conference in overall scoring, Banham is hitting for 47% from long distance and over 81% from the foul line. All this in roughly 34 minutes a contest – pretty lofty numbers from a freshman 19 games into her collegiate career. Her signature game was likely the contest against #1 Baylor in which she scored 19 points, garnered five boards and had three steals – in 39 of the games 40 minutes. But she followed that early season game with a recent trip to Ann Arbor and a 28 point effort fueled by 6-10 shooting from beyond three point arc. Banham is the crown jewel of the Gopher roster and is certainly the link to the future successes of Head Coach Pam Borton and her Gophers.
Skylar Diggins versus Brittany Griner: the POY battle Report #7
For games 1-8-2012 through 1-15-2012
Brittany Griner
Griner delivered 28 points, 11 boards and eight blocks in a 71-44 win over Oklahoma State and then in a 77-59 victory over Texas she added 32 points and 13 rebounds.
Skylar Diggins
In an 80-60 win over the Georgetown Hoyas in D.C. and a matchup with All American candidate Sugar Rodgers, Diggins scored 22 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists. Then in a 76-50 win at Cincinnati, Diggins scored four points but snared seven rebounds, tallied 11 assists and four steals in only 25 minutes.
Advantage: – Tie - Griner and Diggins 2-2-3
Around the Conferences
Maryland traveled to Coral Cables and was hit by a Hurricane in No. 11 Miami 75-63. Duke's super-frosh Elizabeth Williams snagged her fourth ACC Rookie of the Week award after a week which included a triple-double for the No. 5 Blue Devils. Williams scored 18 points grabbed 16 boards and rejected 12 shots in the 76-57 win over Wake Forest.
In the WAC San Jose State's Brittany Johnson captured Conference Player of the Week for her performance in a 83-67 win over Hawaii. Johnson netted 22 points, 12 rebounds and five helpers.
Over in the Pac-12 Stanford’s Nnemkadi Ogwumike was named Player of the week after turning in enormous performances for the Cardinal. First she poured in 32 points and 15 boards in a 67-60 win over Oregon, then dropped 33 points while fetching 16 rebounds in a 93-70 victory over Oregon State.
UNC Asheville’s Lindsey Thompson captured
Big South Player of the Week as she averaged 22 points in leading
her squad to two in-conference wins over two previously undefeated
teams: Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern.
Delaware’s All American really lit it up last week and in addition to capturing the Colonial Athletic Association’s player of the week Elana Delle Donne caught the attention of the good folks at the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as she snagged their Player of the Week award as well. Delle Donne, known for enrolling then leaving UConn, has had nothing but success playing in her home state. This week, the nation’s leading scorer at 30.3 ppg, scored 37 in a win against Towson State and then dropped 40 points and secured 15 rebounds in a win at George Mason. For the complete USBWA release follow this link.
Richmond got a super-human effort from Rachael Bilney as she dropped in 8 3-pointers and 32 points in total as her Spiders defeated George Washington 74-57.
Last thought on the way out
Miami beats Maryland, Kansas State rushes off to a 2-0 Big 12 start, UConn is bested by Notre Dame while Baylor, Stanford, and yes, Green Bay are all undefeated. Thus is the tone as conference plays has begun. Where this all leads no one knows.
Who could have – would have - predicted that Texas A&M would have cut down the nets last spring rather than Connecticut, Stanford, Notre Dame, Baylor or Tennessee. Is it not true that EVERYONE’S Final Four included four of those five teams? A late run with a bit of luck and timing may mean more than having a stacked roster, a team of All Americans, or the very best coaches in the game today (with no disrespect towards Gary Blair).
And that, to use the old and worn lexicon: “is why they play the games”.
Play on!
See you next week –
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Kuster photo courtesy Anthony
Vasser, Rice Sports Information; Della Donne photo courtesy Mark
Campbell, UD Athletics Media Relations
