December 18, 2024
The Weekly Fast Break: Holiday hoops
Big gifts, big performances on the holiday list
One of the toughest weeks of the season for college basketball players is upon us — the days after finals are completed and before you get to go home for handful of days to celebrate the holidays. Coaches are implementing their best motivational tactics to keep their teams focused for holiday hoops, players are doing their best to catch up on sleep and hitting the campus bookstore for those last-minute gifts they are supposed to bring home for their favorite sibling or cousin.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
But the focus must stay laser-sharp or a mid-December stumble over a random extension cord connecting thousands of twinkling lights in the neighborhood could be a team’s downfall. Some have already had a taste of conference action while others will start that grind this week. A handful of teams boarded flights for sunny destinations for a holiday tournament challenge and others are loading up buses for that final non-conference battle that will prepare them for what lies ahead in the new year.
While everyone is frantically finishing their holiday shopping and preparing for the arrival of the in-laws, we here at The Weekly Fast Break want to part a bit of holiday wisdom on all the players out there. The one thing you do not want to do before the brief holiday break is leave after a loss and let your coaches stew on the poor performance in your absence. It will only mean that your return in a few days will be your own personal version of a four-alarm holiday emergency. We encourage you to take the wise words of the great Pat Summit to heart when she said, “offense sells tickets; defense wins games; and rebounding wins championships.” Do whatever it takes to head into the holiday break on a high note or we promise you will never see the end of those block out drills.
Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his latest book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.
TIP-OFF
No stopping Hidalgo
When she burst onto the scene last season as freshman, no one quite knew just how good Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo was or could be in her career. Her coach, former Fighting Irish point guard Niele Ivey keeps telling everyone that will listen how tough Hidalgo is, but it is her play as a sophomore this year that is cementing her as one of the best in the game.
During her career in South Bend, Hidalgo is going to break record after record, and that feat started on Dec. 8 in her team’s 93-62 victory over Syracuse. The 5’6 guard from Merchantville, N.J. reached the 1,000 point-mark just 44 games into her career, making her the fastest Irish player to reach that mark, besting former Notre Dame star Beth Morgan who played in the 1990’s (60 games).
Hidalgo was named ACC Player of the Week for the third time this season and sixth in her short career on Dec. 16 after she averaged 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and 4.5 steals over the last week in wins over No. 2 UConn and Eastern Michigan. The Irish rose to No. 3 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll and seem to have regained their footing after two losses in November, much in part to the play of their super sophomore.
Investing in ‘Hoos Hoops
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and husband to tennis superstar Serena Williams, announced this earlier this month a multi-year gift to Virginia women’s basketball, making it the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the program. Ohanian, a 2005 UVA alumnus, was also the founding control owner of the Angel City FC team in the NWSL and continues to make a statement with his support of women’s sports.
While the specific number of the gift was not released, the contribution will make UVA women’s basketball “a premier destination for female student-athletes while addressing the financial and competitive demands of this new era of college athletics,” the institution said in a press release. As we continue to see the landscape of college athletic change every day, this type of support, specific to women’s basketball, cannot be underestimated. Dollars for programs in these new revenue-sharing models that are coming in 2025 are going to be at a premium and UVA women’s basketball now will be positioned much better than many of their opponents in the ACC and beyond.
Poll Watch
While UCLA stays cemented in the No. 1 spot, there was quite a of bit of movement all around this week’s AP Top 25 Poll. Notre Dame rose five spots to No. 3 after taking care of then-No. 2 UConn 79-68 on Dec. 12. The Huskies dropped 2 places to No. 4 and LSU moved down one to No. 5, even though the Tigers remain unbeaten at 12-0. The biggest mover of the week was No. 17 Georgia Tech which also remains undefeated (11-0) and is off to the best start in program history. Fellow ACC member North Carolina moved down five to No. 19, while Mississippi hangs on to its spot in the Top 25 at No. 25, dropping three places this week. Iowa State is the lone team to drop out of the poll after its 75-69 loss at now-No. 22 Iowa. Two other Big 12 teams received votes along with the Cyclones this week — Utah (15) and Oklahoma State (3).
Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?
Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.
Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.
STAR POWER
After a career-best performance at Butler on Dec. 11, Wisconsin forward Serah Williams was named Big Ten Player of the Week. The 6’4 junior scored 36 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field and added 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Badgers’ double-overtime win over the Bulldogs. This marked Williams’ fifth game this season with 20 or more points and her seventh double-double of the year. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native is currently one of the top five scorers in the Big Ten, while she leads the conference and is second nationally in rebounding, averaging an impressive 12.3 boards per game.
Gonzaga freshman Allie Turner was named WCC Freshman of the Week after she posted a stellar stat line of 19 points, five rebounds and three assists in Gonzaga’s 79-50 victory over Eastern Washington on Dec. 14. The 5’8 guard hit a career-high five 3-pointers and has made at least one 3-point field goal in all but one game this season. Turner, a native of St. Louis, Mo., has scored in double figures in all but two games this year for the Zags.
Iowa State super sophomore Audi Crooks was named Big 12 Player of the Week after she posted her third and fourth career 30-plus point games. Crooks also led all Big 12 players last week in scoring with her average of 30.5 points per game. The 6’3 center finished 14-of-22 from the floor for 31 points at then-No. 21 Iowa on Dec. 11 before popping for 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 15. The native of Algona, Iowa recorded her fifth double-double of the season against the Hawkeyes and is quickly closing in on the 1,000-point mark. This is Crooks’ first weekly award of the season and her third Big 12 Player of the Week recognition of her career.
Vanderbilt sophomore Khamil Pierre has been named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season after she set the program’s single-game scoring record with a 42-point performance against Evansville on Dec. 16. She scored 20 of her 42 points in the first quarter and went 19-for-28 from the field for the game. The 6’2 forward from Phoenix, Ariz. also pulled down 18 rebounds (nine on the offensive end) and led the Commodores with eight steals in the 106-40 victory. Her record-setting performance set a new program record for most points scored in a single game, passing the previous mark of 41 points shared by Chantelle Anderson (Feb. 2001) and Ciaja Harbison (Jan. 2023). Her 42-points are the most scored by an NCAA Division I player this season.
The MAC Player of the Week honors this week went to Northern Illinois forward Brooke Stonebraker after leading the Huskies to an 82-78 win over Indiana State on Dec. 15 in the first game of the Eastern Kentucky MTE. The 6’3 graduate student led all players with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Huskies trailed by 18 points in the second quarter and rallied to win behind Stonebraker’s first double-double of the season. The Versailles, Ohio native tied her career-high of 20 points, which she set twice during the 2023-24 season.
Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
FULL COURT PRESS
The lines at your local grocery store will be long, and we will all spend more time searching for a parking spot at Target than shopping, so be sure to take a moment for yourself this holiday season to decompress. Settle into your favorite chair or spot on the sofa and dial up some great matchups before the holiday madness begins. Cheer for your team or against your rival — whichever lifts your holiday spirits the most — and keep your eye on these games coming up (check your local listings for game times and broadcast availability):
Dec. 18
UNLV at Northwestern
Rice at No. 17 Georgia Tech
North Dakota State at Washington
No. 19 UNC at Florida
No. 18 Tennessee at Memphis
Dec. 19
No. 15 Michigan State vs. Montana (West Palm Beach, FL)
Vermont at Buffalo
Colorado State vs. Georgia (San Diego, CA)
UT Arlington at UTSA
Eastern Illinois at SEMO
R/V Vanderbilt at Dayton
Portland at LMU
Dec. 20
Southern Miss at Missouri State
No. 18 Tennessee vs. Richmond (West Palm Beach, FL)
R/V Alabama vs. No. 15 Michigan State (West Palm Beach, FL)
Belmont at No. 16 Kentucky
Northern Iowa at No. 22 Iowa
No. 11 Ohio State vs. Stanford (Chase Center, San Francisco)
R/V Creighton vs. No. 1 UCLA (Chase Center, San Francisco)
Dec. 21
No. 9 Duke at South Florida
R/V Richmond vs. R/V Alabama (West Palm Beach, FL)
Boston U. at Harvard
Drake at St. Thomas (MN)
No. 23 Nebraska at No. 17 Georgia Tech
No. 7 USC at No. 4 UConn
No. 12 TCU at UCF
No. 14 West Virginia at Colorado
R/V Iowa State at R/V Oklahoma State
Arizona at BYU
Baylor at Kansas
Dec. 22
Cincinnati at No. 14 K-State
R/V South Dakota State at No. 3 Texas
Houston at Texas Tech
*All statistics cited in this column are sourced from university and conference provided statistics
Written by Missy Heidrick
I am a retired Kansas State shooting guard and spent almost 20 years working in Higher Education and Division 1 athletics. I am currently a basketball analyst for television and radio, contributing correspondent at The Next, Locked on Women's Basketball podcast host, WBB Naismith Award board of selectors member and run my own consulting business. I am a proud mother of two and wife to a patient husband who is almost as big of a sports junkie as I am!
