November 20, 2024
The Weekly Fast Break: Opportunities galore, JuJu Watkins vs. Hannah Hidalgo
TCU's big start, Smesko out and much more
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word opportunity as ‘a good chance for advancement or progress’. Now that we have had the first run of games in the 2024-25 season, coaches and players are embracing the opportunities the lie ahead. Whether it is facing a tough opponent at home, lacing it up against a rival or playing on the road in a hostile environment, that it itself can be the challenge that helps a team make progress early in the season. Players are being tested every day in practice and in games to be better than they were the day before and seize their opportunity to get more minutes on the floor.
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Mid-November is a time on the schedule when many teams find themselves packing not only their practice gear and shoes but sunglasses and flip flops as they embark on tournament destinations. Whether it is Las Vegas or the Bahamas, Hawaii or Mexico, the opportunity to play high-level competition and see a new place is one that coaches will not pass up. How they each measure their own progress after the fact will be determined, with a plus-minus stat of who enjoyed the sunshine the most.
Our motto this season here at The Weekly Fastbreak is inspired by a quote from the late Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Summitt when she said, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games. Rebounding wins championships.” Summitt knew a thing or two about motivating her teams to seize the opportunity in front of them. We know that progress can be made one rebound at a time, and it is time we get in the lane and rip one down.
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1,000 and Climbing: The accolades piled up a season ago for USC guard JuJu Watkins as the 6’2 guard from Los Angeles, CA burst onto the women’s basketball season as a freshman. Now, just four games into her sophomore campaign, Watkins has surpassed the 1,000-point plateau and is averaging 21.5 points per game. She achieved the milestone in just her 38th career game, which is tied for the second fastest in Division I women’s basketball history. She reaches the mark 20 games faster than USC legend Cheryl Miller and in two fewer games than former All-American and 2024 National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark. The Trojans are No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll this week and square off against No. 6 Notre Dame on Nov. 23. All eyes will be glued to this game to watch two super sophomores go head-to-head: Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.
Horned Frogs – Attack! There were a host of questions coming out of Fort Worth, TX about what season number two would look like for head coach Mark Campbell. In his first year at the helm of the TCU program, Campbell brought in key transfers but saw early season success derailed by injuries. Fast forward to 2024-25, and the Horned Frogs have reloaded with more transfers and the return of seventh-year center Sedona Prince. TCU has vaulted into the AP Top 25 poll with a 76-73 win over then No. 13 NC State at home on Nov. 17, giving them their first ranked win since 2021 and first victory over a top 15 opponent in six seasons. Prince led the way, posting a double-double with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Guard Hailey Van Lith, the most sought-after transfer in the portal this past spring, also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. The road for the Horned Frogs presents many opportunities to move up in the polls in the upcoming weeks as they will tussle with No. 6 Notre Dame (Nov. 29) and No. 1 South Carolina (Dec. 8) just to name a few. *Sedona Prince was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and AP National Player of the Week
Moving On Out: When head coaching vacancies in women’s college basketball have occurred each spring, there is always one name that is whispered about to fill any number of them – Karl Smesko. The Florida Gulf Coast head coach had built a perennial mid-major power in Fort Myers, FL, where the sun shines brightly and the wins piled up. In his 23 seasons as the first and only head coach of the program, Smesko compiled a record of 611-112, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Only FGCU and UConn have won 25 or more games in each of the last 14 seasons at the DI women’s level. His high-flying system of fast-paced transition basketball and three-point shooting has made him a target for numerous jobs for many years, but he never left. On Nov. 13 it was announced Smesko had accepted the position of head coach with the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. FGCU will now be led by Chelsea Lyles, who served as Smesko’s top assistant. Sometimes the opportunity for one comes at an inopportune time for others.
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Poll Watch: If you are looking for movement in this week’s AP Poll, you must start after the twelfth spot, which is held by Ohio State. West Virginia is up two spots to No. 13 to garner its highest ranking since 2018. Duke rose to No. 14 after a decisive win against Dayton and seized the opportunity for a road win at South Dakota State on Nov. 17 (the Jackrabbits received votes again this week). NC State falls seven places to No. 20 as does Louisville, which at 2-2 sits at No. 25. Stanford was ranked for one week but falls out of the poll after their 79-66 road loss at Indiana. TCU vaulted itself into the Top 25 at No. 19 with a win over then-No. 13 NC State. There are three states that each have two teams receiving votes this week: Michigan (38) and Michigan State (15); Vanderbilt (14) and Tennessee (3); and Florida State (5) and Miami (4).
STAR POWER
The Sun Belt Player of the Week went to Georgia State’s Crystal Henderson who came up big in the Panthers’ 66-60 upset win over Georgia on Nov. 14. The sophomore guard from Marietta, GA posted 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the victory. Henderson went 5-7 from three-point range and currently leads the Sun Belt with 16 assists through four games, a figure that is tied for seventh nationally. She also is averaging a team best 14.3 points per game.
Redshirt senior guard Jordyn Jenkins of UTSA was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week after averaging 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a pair of wins for the Roadrunners. She posted a pair of double-doubles in the victories over UTEP and New Mexico State, including 30-point, 12-rebound performance in the 78-73 come-from-behind win over UTEP. Jenkins, a native of Renton, WA, was also named one of five USBWA Players of the Week.
Arizona’s Lauryn Swann was named Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week after helping the Wildcats to two victories and pushing their record to 5-0 to start the season. Swann dropped a team-high 19 points in Arizona’s 75-66 win over UNLV on Nov. 12, going 8-for-9 from the field. The 5’7 guard from Queens, NY had 10 points off the bench in the 84-48 victory over Chicago State on Nov. 16. Swann is the first Arizona women’s basketball player to earn a weekly conference honor.
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FILM SESSION
In the days leading up to the Nov. 17 matchup between Duke and South Dakota State, the message from both programs was that they knew this would be a challenge and yet a great opportunity. For then No. 14 Duke, it was to go on the road into a loud and packed arena and test themselves against one of the best mid-major programs in the nation. (R/V) South Dakota State understood the task at hand, to handle the pressure of the magnitude of the game and the relentless defensive pressure from the Blue Devils.
Both teams shot over 55% in the first quarter and saw Duke lead 23-18 after the first 10 minutes. In the second quarter, the Blue Devils not only applied full court pressure, but forced the Jackrabbits into tough offensive possessions, contesting shots and shutting down second chance opportunities. SDSU went 3-13 in the second 10 minutes and trailed 38-30 at half. But SDSU came to life in the third quarter with defensive pressure of their own and forcing Duke into more half-court possessions. In the final ten minutes, SDSU went 3-for-6 from three-point range to keep themselves within striking distance and had the game tied at 59-59 with 7:38 left to play. But a string of three empty possessions by SDSU (two missed jumpers and a turnover) led to a 7-0 run by Duke and they never relinquished the lead after that. Duke’s defense lived up to the billing, forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 21 points off the SDSU miscues, letting the Blue Devils escape Brookings, SD with a 75-71 win.
Sophomore Jaydn Donovan had a career afternoon on the road, posting a double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds, five of those on the offensive end. Junior guard Ashlon Jackson carried Duke in the first half, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the first 20 minutes and she finished 8-for-10 at the charity stripe. SDSU junior center Brooklyn Meyer, the reigning Summit League Player of the Year, led all scorers with 25 points in 35 minutes on the floor.
This game had all the feelings of a late-season conference tussle or even an early NCAA Tournament matchup. Players finding a way to make the big play down the stretch and no one backing down. The challenges were accepted and met head on knowing this kind of test will only make both teams better as the season goes on.
FULL COURT PRESS
The 10 days or so of the season had some games we would classify as “getting our feet wet” and now everyone is now jumping into the deep end on the competition scale. We are watching top-ranked teams hit the road, ranked-match ups on neutral courts and in-state rivals square off. Opportunities are in front of us for signature wins, bragging rights and measurable progress to see where your team stacks up against the rest of the country. While some will be hitting the pool on the off day and others will try their hand at the poker tables, do not lose track of these games coming up (check your local listings for game times and broadcast availability):
Nov. 20
No. 1 South Carolina at Clemson
No. 8 Iowa State at Northern Iowa
Kansas at R/V Iowa
Arizona at Northern Arizona
Auburn at No. 23 Oregon
Nov. 21
Belmont at No. 14 Duke
Oral Roberts at Arkansas
DePaul at Green Bay
Rice at Gonzaga
Nov. 22
No. 21 Nebraska at Creighton
Hofstra at Lehigh
Florida at R/V Florida State
Oregon State at No. 22 Illinois
No. 9 Oklahoma at UNLV
Nov. 23
Davidson at Wake Forest
Harvard at Northwestern
Georgia vs. Penn State (Florida)
No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 3 USC
No. 16 UNC vs. Ball State (Bahamas)
Georgia Tech vs. R/V South Dakota State (Hawaii)
Texas A&M vs. Villanova (Bahamas)
Nov. 24
Bowling Green at No. 12 Ohio State
South Florida vs. No. 25 Louisville (Florida)
UT Arlington at Purdue
Drake at No. 8 Iowa State
No. 1 South Carolina at No. 5 UCLA
Washington State at R/V Iowa
Nov. 25
No. 7 LSU vs. Washington (Bahamas)
No. 14 Duke vs. No. 10 K-State (Las Vegas)
No. 17 Ole Miss vs. Boston College (Bahamas)
No. Oklahoma vs. DePaul (Las Vegas)
Nov. 26
Cal vs. R/V Michigan State (Florida)
No. 15 Kentucky vs. Arizona State (Nashville, TN)
R/V Vanderbilt vs. Arizona (Palm Springs, CA)
No. 23 Oregon vs. R/V South Dakota State (Hawaii)
Murray State at Little Rock
*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!
