USA TODAY International Edition
Growing game tops women’s storylines
Just seven months removed from an exhilarating NCAA Tournament – where viewership skyrocketed and every game was broadcast for the first time – women’s college basketball tips off this season with no clear title favorite.
Parity in the women’s game is growing every year, a positive for a sport trying to grow exponentially in popularity.
As the season tips off Tuesday, here are the five biggest storylines to watch.
How does women’s basketball capitalize on the success?
The tournament last season was unique, there’s no doubt. Every game was broadcast by ESPN Networks for the first time, including a few games on ABC that drew big viewership. ( Who could forget the matchup of sensational freshmen Paige Bueckers of Connecticut vs. Iowa’s sweet- shooting Caitlin Clark, or the infamous no- call in BaylorUConn with a spot to the Final Four on the line?) Breakout stars like Arizona’s Aari McDonald charmed fans and won over new viewers.
There was also the not- so- shocking, blatant displays of inequity between the men’s and women’s tournament, which drew outrage. Oregon’s Sedona Prince, one of the first to put the NCAA on blast last spring via social media, said she hoped people tuning in would see “women’s basketball is not boring. It’s fun, it’s exciting. It’s different than men’s basketball, but in an amazing way.”
Now, stakeholders in women’s basketball believe the game is at a critical crossroads.
Dawn Staley of South Carolina said that keeping fans engaged “has to do with us writing our own narrative. We’ve got to create stories about our game. We have to build each other up in our sport.” After the Final Four, Staley called for increased investment into women’s basketball.
The influx of new Final Four participants over the last decade, including a handful of Pac- 12 schools and Syracuse, is a positive for the sport, Staley said.
Women involved in the game already know their worth. Now it’s time to remind everyone else.
When will Connecticut win another national title?
For almost two decades, women’s college basketball was thought of as Connecticut and everyone else. The Huskies dominated in March, winning 11 titles over two- plus decades, including four in a row from 2013- 16.
But the drought is going on five seasons now, an unthinkably long stretch for anyone living in Storrs. In March UConn lost to upstart Arizona in the national semifinal, a game in which the Huskies were heavily favored. Bueckers, last season’s national player of the year who averaged 20 points and 5.8 assists, is back and – in a sentence you’ve likely read before – the Huskies are loaded again.
Azzi Fudd, the country’s top- ranked recruit and a former national Gatorade player of the year, joins Bueckers. The two have been clear in their mission: bring championship trophies back to UConn, where they rightfully belong. They’ll be aided by guards Christyn Williams ( 16.3 ppg) and Evina Westbrook ( 9.4 pig, 4.3 apg). UConn is expected to contend for a national championship. Then again, they’re always expected to.
Has power permanently shifted to the West Coast?
There was no denying the top conference in the country last March: The Pac- 12 sent two teams to the Final Four ( Arizona and Stanford) and won the national championship ( Stanford), which came after a tournament where they sent six teams to the field with three reaching the Sweet 16.
It was the fourth time in five years that a Pac- 12 team made its Final Four debut after Oregon ( 2019), Oregon State ( 2016) and Washington ( 2016); Cal went in 2013. But Stanford is the only team to bring home a title in any of those trips. The Cardinal, who return a boatload of talent, should be in the mix for another national championship.
“Anyone who thinks this was a flash in the pan hasn’t been doing their homework,” said UCLA coach Cori Close. “Over the last four to five years, the Pac- 12 has been the leader in terms of the conference that advances the most teams into the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. I would not be surprised if we had eight or nine teams in the tournament this year.”
UCLA has routinely signed some of the best recruiting classes in the country and is looking to reach college basketball’s promised land for the first time under Close. Oregon State and Oregon, which each won three titles in a row from 2015- 2020, will challenge for the conference championship. Arizona coach Adia Barnes has spoken openly about making sure the Wildcats aren’t one- and- done when it comes to the Final Four. Southern California hired longtime Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb away from the NBA this offseason. Arizona State plays harder than almost any team in America and is in every game.
For decades, West Coast kids thought they had to go back east to contend for titles. The last few years, the Pac- 12 has shown that’s not the case.
The Pac- 12 has won partially by keeping West Coast talent at home; think California natives like Kelsey Plum ( Washington), Sabrina Ionescu ( Oregon) and Haley Jones ( Stanford).
“The Pac- 12 isn’t going away,” Close said. “And we’re not done ascending either.”
Who benefits the most from crazy NCAA transfer carousel?
This one is easy: Duke and Louisville. Duke is rebuilding under new coach Kara Lawson ( Lawson took over in July 2020, but the Blue Devils only played four games in a COVID- 19- shortened season) and seven transfers should help speed up the process. Texas transfer Celeste Taylor ( 12.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Texas Tech transfer Lexi Gordon ( 15.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) will give Duke an experienced backcourt, and forwards Imani Lewis ( Wisconsin, 15 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and Amaya Finklea- Guity ( Syracuse) will give the Blue Devils more frontcourt depth.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are a perennial top 10 program; they’ve been to 10 Sweet 16s in 14 seasons under Jeff Walz. Now, to an already talented roster they add Vanderbilt transfer Chelsie Hall ( 15.4 ppg 4.8 rpg) and double- double threat Emily Engstler from Syracuse ( 10.5 pig, 9.1 rpg, Atlantic Coast Conference co- sixth player of the year).