San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Bay Area women’s basketball players to watch
From Pac-12 to mid-majors, they’ll be key as teams look to improve
Brink was sixth in the nation in blocked shots last season. Her presence in the paint is one of her assets, but Stanford might ask more of the junior. She has been working on her 3-point shot to strengthen her repertoire. Her biggest concern is foul trouble, something that has prevented her minutes from climbing as much as the Cardinal would like. The rest of her game, though, makes her topfive-player-in-the-country material.
Semaj Smith, San Jose State: The Spartans are starting nearly anew, but there is familiarity with new head coach April Philips and Smith, a transfer from Arizona. The two who were last together when Philips was a Wildcats assistant in 2018-19, Smith’s freshman year. Smith’s role with the Wildcats dwindled over the years, but this is the five-star recruit’s last opportunity to have an impact with a team looking for an entirely new identity.
Peanut Tuitele, Cal: Head coach Charmin Smith expressed plenty of excitement about Tuitele, who transferred from Colorado. She knows the conference and averaged 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.7% with the Buffaloes. She had a career-best 51.5 shooting percentage a season ago and 29 blocks while aiding Colorado to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years. She adds nice experience to the Bears.
Haley Jones, Stanford: Projected to be one of the top players in the nation, Jones makes the Cardinal go. The senior, who plans on forgoing the extra COVID year of eligibility and making this her final season,
averaged 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 30.8 minutes per game as a junior. The Cardinal will use her at point guard more this season to increase her touches and entrench her even deeper into the offense.
Jessica McDowell-White, USF: The senior was 17th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio last season, and dishing the ball is the main part of her game, though she will look to score more this season. The Australian averaged 32.3 minutes per game and played the entire 40 minutes twice last season. Her 4.3 assists per game led the team and she also averaged 3.9 rebounds.
Taycee Wedin, St. Mary’s: Wedin was fifth in the nation in 3-pointers (106) and eighth in attempts (248) last season. Part of a strong duo with Ali Bamberger, Wedin is one of the most underrated pure shooters in the country. She shot at a 40% clip
from beyond the arc while averaging 14.4 points per game.
Ali Bamberger, St. Mary’s: The one St. Mary’s player on the preseason All-WCC team, she averaged 15.3 points per game a season ago and led the team with 9.3 rebounds per game as the conference’s newcomer of the year. The Gaels have a lot of momentum following their WBI championship, and Bamberger is the type of player to lead them to the next level.
Ioanna Krimili, USF: The lone USF player on the preseason All-WCC team, Krimili averaged 19.4 points per game a season ago. She set a program record with 97 3-pointers in 2020-21 and is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the nation. She made 76 triples a season ago and posted four games of 30 points or more. She has the potential to take over any game.
Jayda Curry, Cal: Curry gets a lot of attention for her
name in the Bay Area, but she is one of the most exciting underclassmen in the nation on her own merit. She led the Pac-12 in scoring as a freshman and the media voted her first-team allconference. The Bears tend to rely on Curry offensively; they’re trying to focus on a deeper roster, but Curry’s 18.6 points per game from last season could increase as a sophomore. She said this preseason she is focused on improving her defensive game.
Lexie Pritchard, Santa
Clara: How the Broncos do this season will have a lot to do with Pritchard’s health. They struggled when she was injured, losing their last three regular-season games before being bounced in the conference tournament. She averaged just 7.3 points per game before her injury, but likely will take over the minutes lost from the graduated Lindsay VanAllen.