Lots of scoreboard-watching as ranked teams got surprising resistance from unranked teams.
By 1: In a battle of the unbeaten between Iowa and #13 Florida, the Seminoles escaped by the hair of their chinny-chin-chin thanks to a furious fourth quarter comeback.
By 1: The lead flipped back and forth between #15 Maryland and Virginia until the Terps’ Kaila Charles scored the last three points to secure the win.
By 3: #25 Villanova avoided the “we’re back in the rankings!” jinx, escaping the Princeton Tigers, 62-59.
By 6: Showing they’re no longer a pushover, the Rice Owls battled Texas A&M to the end. Aggies emerged victorious, 82-76.
Not so much an issue:
#16 Stanford by 20 over San Francisco.
#3 Notre Dame by 20 over #22 Michigan.
#6 Mississippi State by 57 over Louisiana. Of note: Ameshya Williams is no longer with the Bulldogs.
Keeping an eye on…
Sitting at 6-1, William & Mary’s program is still growing.
Ditto with IUPUI, who’s got a 5-1 record.
North Carolina gave Minnesota its first loss, 88-83.
Good win for Temple over a strong St. Joseph’s, 69-66.
Hello! Ball State (6-0) is still undefeated.
Ball State has overcome its first six opponents to start the season 6-0 for the first time ever.
“It was important to put this group on the road with a lot of games thrown at them early just to see how we would respond and see how some of the new kids would play under the lights,” head coach Brady Sallee said. “Clearly we have passed all those test pretty well and we have had some different kids step up.”
Interesting: San Diego State tops San Diego by 2, 77-76. Also, FWIW: SDSU women’s hoops arrived at compromise over anthem protests
Less than three weeks before the Aztecs were to open their season Nov. 3 with an exhibition against Cal State Los Angeles, a group of players, inspired by the demonstrations of other athletes, decided they wanted to kneel for the national anthem.
A number of their teammates, some of whom have family members serving in the military, were adamant about not doing so.
Sirens of anxiety went off in the school’s athletic department.
Few players in the college realm, and none at SDSU, had performed protests. There was a legitimate fear that the young women would face an angry backlash, especially in a city stridently devoted to the military.
That’s the juicy, headline-grabbing part of the story. The inspiration comes in how the players eventually came to decide upon a display that apparently has been embraced by all while bringing the teammates closer together.
“It has turned into something bigger than I could have expected,” Aztecs head coach Stacie Terry said.
The State: ‘Something that our team needed’: USC is set to rebound from its first loss, Dawn Staley says
The Gazette: Iowa State women’s basketball seeks second scoring option
Listen up! Around the Rim with McGraw, Collen Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and Atlanta Dream coach Nicki Collen discuss their hopes for the season, transfers and relocation on LaChina Robinson’s latest podcast.
In case you were wondering, The Mercury News’s Elliot Almond explains: Why Stanford and Cal women have tough starts to season
AP: Rutgers star thriving after missing year to fix heart defect
Tyler Scaife went for a routine physical a few years ago that turned out to be anything but normal.
This was after her sophomore year and doctors detected a heart murmur. After further testing, it was discovered Rutgers’ star guard had a congenital heart defect. Scaife was shocked at the diagnosis.
“I said ‘I play basketball I can’t have a heart murmur,’” she recalled Wednesday after practice. “Then they did a lot of tests and it came back that I did.”
Press of Atlantic City: Hard work at Fordham paying off for Lower grad Holden
50? NCAA.com: Women’s basketball: 50 named to Naismith Trophy watch list
WNBA
O! O! O! *crosses fingers* AP Doug: WNBA President expects Liberty to stay in New York
WNBA President Lisa Borders expects the Liberty to stay in New York.
“We understand there is a significant interest in the team,” Borders told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday.
Update: WNBA Overseas: Stewart Impressing, Sims And McBride Productive
CONGRATS! Minnesota Lynx Star Maya Moore Wins Sports Illustrated’s Performer of the Year Award –
Listen Up! “Maya Moore Talks Mass Incarceration.” The WNBA legend @mooremaya speaks to us about prosecutorial misconduct, why she advocates for the voiceless, why leadership is so important, and much more. @edgeofsports
Got a few bucks hanging around? Minnesota Lynx to host garage sale
Gonna need a bigger business card: Pokey Chatman assumes Fever GM role; Krauskopf remains team president
Congrats! With North championship, Tamara Moore ‘finally out of the shadow of the boys’ (and in the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame next September).
Who woulda thunk it: Susie Shelton has built a dynasty for girls’ basketball at Mountain Heritage
Shelton wasn’t just a standout in high school but went on to have a Hall of Fame career at Mars Hill University. She was the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year in 1996 and averaged 19.1 points per game, which was the best in school’s history when she graduated.
After a year away from college, she attended an open tryout for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. Out of more than 300 players, she was one of two players to receive a spot on the developmental team.
She eventually was moved up to the active roster and played spot minutes her one season on the team.
“It was neat to do. I don’t really talk about it a lot,” she said. “These kids don’t realize it has been so long ago. I can say I was there and i did it.
International: Q&A with Paul Nilsen: Team USA’s and Belgium’s outlooks for the FIBA Women’s World Cup
And, ’cause it’s important to remember, from Richard Deitsch: Revisiting Sexual Harassment of Female Sports Reporters and Media Members
In August 2015, I wrote a piece that chronicled sexual harassment toward female sports reporters, hoping to provide some insight as to how often this happens to women in sports media. This week I decided this week to re-run the piece (with additional reporting below) given the nationwide conversation about sexual harassment and assault, as well as the near-daily stories about alleged and confirmed sexual predation.
From the female sports reporter above who works for a major East Coast outlet:
“The only thing I wanted to add is that despite everything that is happening right now, women in sports are staying silent (so far). Why is this? What does it say about our industry and the pervasive fear of speaking out? I’m not sure any other field is so thoroughly dominated by men, from the athletes we cover to the people in power of hiring and firing. While a number of us have shared stories on social media and under the #MeToo movement, sports and sports media are unscathed by this scandal. In my opinion that’s not because harassment doesn’t exist, it’s because women who work in this business are terrified to talk. It doesn’t help that ESPN is about to layoff a number of people again. If you talk with both men and women in sports journalism, most of us feel lucky to have a job. No one wants to jeopardize their employment.”
Women's Hoops Blog 