Daily Briefing — Feb. 15, 2022: CATCH YOU LATER — Tamika Catchings out of Indiana

But to Catchings’ credit, as others have noted: In stepping down after adding four draft picks in exchange for Julie Allemand and taking on Bria Hartley’s contract, Catchings did end her managerial career on its highest note, leaving her successor with three first-round draft picks.

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W Roundup

Free agency

• Rui Machida: The Japanese point guard signed a minimum deal with Washington, per Richard Cohen. Despite the fact that she’ll be 29 when the season starts, Machida’s contract would run the Mystics the lower minimum (if they keep her out of training camp), since she’s never come stateside before. And as technically only the second point guard under contract for Washington, she’s got a pretty good chance of breaking camp.

Indiana: General manager Tamika Catchings stepped down. The team named Kentucky Wildcats special assistant and former legendary Fever head coach Lin Dunn as their interim GM.

Visit our offseason trackers page to see all the other free agent moves and how they affect team’s caps, other front-office changes, and more — in neat, colorful fashion!

(All times in Eastern)

Watch List, Tuesday, Feb. 15

It’s Basketball

Mississippi State @ Kentucky, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

Florida State @ Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACC Network Extra

Monday, Feb. 14 recap

#5 Indiana, RV Nebraska: The Huskers beat the Hoosiers 72-55. Indiana closed the gap to four in the early fourth quarter, then Nebraska scored 17 unanswered. The Huskers out-shot the Hoosiers by 14.0% from the field and 38.0% from three; Nebraska had a +8 rebounding margin. Combo guard Jaz Shelley led the Huskers with 14 points on 4-for-13 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals against two turnovers; center Alexis Markowski notched a double-double with 10 points on 3-for-7 FG and 15 rebounds, plus two blocks and three turnovers; point guard Sam Haiby had 14 points on 7-for-16 shooting (10-3 3pt.), four rebounds, and four assists against five turnovers; backup combo guard Allison Weidner tallied 11 points on 5-for-7 from the field (1-1 3pt.), four rebounds, two assists, and two turnovers.

The Hoosiers were led by point guard Grace Berger’s 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting (1-1 3pt.), three rebounds, and two assists; big Aleksa Gulbe notched 10 points on 4-for-16 FG (0-4 3pt.) and seven rebounds against three turnovers; combo guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary struggled 10 10 points on 4-for-18 from the field and 1-for-10 from three with six rebounds and three steals; combo guard Ali Patberg had only six points on 2-for-12 shooting (0-5 3pt.) with seven rebounds (five offensive) against three turnovers.

#13 Maryland, #22 Iowa: The Terps beat the Hawkeyes 81-69. Maryland led by as much as 20 in the mid-third quarter; Iowa cut the gap to five points a quarter later, but the Terps responded with a 10-2 run. The teams combined to shoot 43.4% from the field, but Maryland shot 20.0% better from three; the Terps out-rebounded the Hawkeyes by 16; the teams each committed 19 turnovers and 17 fouls. Angel Reese led Maryland with a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double on 9-for-15 from the field (0-1 3pt.) and 7-for-11 from the line with six offensive boards, plus two assists, two stelas, and two blocks against five turnovers and four fouls in 33 minutes; wing Diamond Miller had 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting (3-6 3pt.), four rebounds, three assists, and two steals against six turnovers; combo forward Chloe Bibby scored 16 points on 6-for-14 FGF (4-7 3pt.), with eight rebounds (three offensive), two assists, and four turnovers; combo guard Shyanne Sellers tallied nine points on 3-for-8 shooting (0-2 3pt.), eight rebounds (four offensive), and two turnovers; combo guard Katie Benzan fouled out in 39 minutes, finishing with five points on 2-for-7 from the field (1-3 3pt.), three rebounds, and five assists. Point guard Ashley Owusu remained out with a day-to-day ankle injury, per Testudo Times’ Ben Dickson.

Iowa was once again led by point guard Caitlin Clark, who struggled to 19 points on 7-for-25 from the field and 3-for-13 from three, six rebounds, and six assists against 10 turnovers — she looked herself in a nine-point, 3-for-4-from-three third-quarter, but otherwise shot just 4-for-20; center Monika Czinano fouled-out in 27 minutes, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-10 FG and five rebounds without a turnover; off-ball guard Kate Martin had 10 points on 2-for-6 shooting (1-2 3pt., 5-6 FT), two assists, and two steals against four turnovers and four fouls in 26 minutes; backup center Addison O’Grady notched eight points on 4-for-5 FG, six rebounds (four offensive), and two steals in 13 minutes. Wing McKenna Warnock remained out with what the announcers identified as a broken wrist (the “broken” part is new).

TDB Angel Reese Foul Watch: Four fouls in 33 minutes today; 16th-most fouls in the country; 4.6 fouls per 40 minutes (18th percentile), 5.5% foul percentage (19th percentile, per Her Hoop Stats) for the season.

#17 Florida: 83-77 win over Auburn. The Tigers led as late as the mid-third quarter, but the Gators responded with a 19-5 run. The Gators were out-shot from three, but forced 20 turnovers and drew 27 fouls, despite committing 22 fouls. Combo guard Zippy Broughton led with 18 points on 7-for-18 from the field and 2-for-6 from three, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals against two turnovers; backup combo forward Kristina Moore scored 15 points in under 11 minutes on 3-for-3 from three (1-2 from two) without a turnover — the most points by any player with fewer than 11 minutes played this season, per HHS; big Jordyn Merritt committed four fouls in 18 minutes, finishing with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting (0-1 3pt., 5-6 FT), five rebounds, and two blocks against two turnovers; point guard Kiara Smith had 12 points on 4-for-10 FG (4-6 FT), two assists, three steals, and six turnovers.

#18 Ohio State: 86-67 win over Illinois. Led by 12 at halftime, then scored the first 21 points of the second half. Shot 49.3% overall; notched 19 steals, part of 24 forced turnovers. Combo guard Jacy Sheldon led with 22 point on 9-for-14 shooting (0-1 3pt.), three rebounds, seven assists, and four steals against two turnovers; point guard Rikki Harris had 17 points on 5-for-7 from three (1-4 from two), three rebounds, three assists, and four steals against two turnovers; big Rebeka Mikulášiková notched 14 points on 5-for-12 from the field and 2-for-7 from three, five rebounds, and two steals without a turnover; wing Taylor Mikesell scored 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting (1-3 3pt.) with five assists and no turnovers.

Wyoming: 84-64 win over San José State. Combo forward McKinley Bradshaw led all scorers Monday with a career-high 33 points on 13-for-21 from the field and 4-for-6 from three, plus three rebounds and two assists without a turnovers.

Blown leads

Hartford: 61-59 loss to New Hampshire. Led by 19 at halftime for a 96.8% win expectancy, then lost the end of the third quarter, 26-4.

Cancellations

• Idaho vs. Portland State

*Receiving Votes