January 15, 2025
The Weekly Fast Break: Last ones standing
Ohio State and Notre Dame in the headlines, triple doubles and Gamecock W's
In December 2024, the world of college athletics embarked on something unlike anything it has experienced before – an expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) with 12 teams seeking a national championship. While this is new territory for power conferences at the Division I level, it is not new to our football friends at the FCS level, who battle in a playoff bracket every year to crown a champion. North Dakota State was victorious on Jan. 6 to capture its 10th national title since 2011, beating undefeated Montana State 35-32. And of course, a heated bracket filled with upsets, upstarts and heartbreak is normal for college basketball fans everywhere – it is how we spend every March.
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While the selection of the 12 teams into the CFP Playoff was met with heated discussion, the final two teams are set and one will be crowned champion on Monday, Jan. 20. Just as we watch top seeds fall every year during the Big Dance, the top four teams who received a bye in this first-ever bracket did not advance. No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 8 seed Ohio State are set to clash in Atlanta to claim the national championship trophy. What these two teams have found is that if you keep winning, your season can be very long, since it started last August. It is what teams who make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament learn every spring as well.
We here at The Weekly Fast Break are looking forward to watching the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish battle it out on the field. And lucky for us, both schools just so happen to have top 10 women’s basketball programs, including one of only three undefeated teams left in the nation (OSU). When the great Pat Summitt said, “offense sells tickets; defense wins games; and rebounding wins championships,” we know she was right — big plays will “wow” your fans, but the attention to the details will win you golden trophies.
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Tip-off
Pistol Pete with his guns up
Year three of the Jacie Hoyt era at Oklahoma State is shaping up to be just what they were needing in Stillwater. The head coach guided the Cowgirls to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, finishing 21-12 on the year, but last season was derailed with injuries on top of injuries and one too many close losses. OSU finds itself back in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2018 at No. 24 this week with a record of 14-3 and sitting at 4-2 in the Big 12. Three of their conference victories so far have come over teams picked ahead of them preseason poll — Iowa State, West Virginia and Baylor. The Cowgirls entered this week as a top five scoring team in the Big 12, playing at a fast tempo and shooting threes, all of which is part of Hoyt’s gameplan. A more concerted effort to be better on defense and on the glass is paying off — they are holding opponents to around 60 points per game (top five in the league) and have a positive rebounding margin through 17 games. Sophomore Stailee Heard has elevated her game from her first season at OSU, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding. Transfer guards Micah Gray (Seton Hall) and Alexia Smith (Virginia) have been big contributors along with veteran guard Anna Gret Asi. They dropped a tough game on the road at Houston 79-76 on Jan. 14 and will need to regroup at UCF on Jan. 18. They then host No. 10 TCU on Jan. 22.
*Heard was one of five players named as the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Women’s Honorees of the Week on Jan. 14 by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA)
Panthers claw back in record fashion
For anyone watching the ACC clash of SMU at Pitt on Jan. 12, you most definitely saw what we call a ‘tale of two halves.’ SMU was in complete control after the first 20 minutes and went into the locker room at halftime up 49-18. Whatever motivation that Pitt’s second year head coach Tony Verdi used with his team worked because the Panthers staged what ties them for the largest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball history, coming back from 32 points down in the first half (31 at the break) to beat SMU 72-59. Pitt held the Mustangs scoreless in the third quarter (28-0) and then outscored them again the fourth, 26-10. The Panthers were led by three players in double figures, including 22 from redshirt-sophomore Mikayla Johnson, 14 from guard Marley Washenitz and a double-double performance from 6’4 center Khadija Faye (21 points and 12 rebounds.) The Pitt defense held SMU to 2-for-28 from the field in the second half. The lesson we can learn from this gritty effort by Pitt for the rest of the season is this — no matter how bad you may play in the first half, just remember, you are never truly out of a game until the final buzzer sounds.
Poll watch
The action on the floor has created a flurry of activity in the AP Top 25 Poll. Three teams remain unbeaten on the season — No. 1 UCLA, now No. 5 LSU (up one spot) and No. 9 Ohio State. Texas fell two places to No. 7 and fellow SEC member Oklahoma fell three spots to No. 13. Two teams out of the ACC rose the most this week — No. 14 UNC is up 5 places and No. 18 Cal is up six. The log jam at No. 24 created a tie with two teams who have not been ranked in this decade — Oklahoma State (last in 2018) and Minnesota (not since 2019). Iowa fell out of the Top 25 after losses to Indiana and Illinois and Harvard remains the lone mid-major program to garner votes this week, with three.
Star power
Triple-double star power has been on high alert this season and the performances just keep piling up. This week’s SEC Freshman of the Week was awarded to Liv McGill of Florida after she posted the program’s first triple-double since 2017 and posted back-to-back outings in double figures for scoring. Her big week began with a 10-point performance in 28 minutes in Florida’s 71-55 loss to No. 12 Kentucky on Jan. 9. The 5’9 guard from Minneapolis, Minn., had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Gators’ win at Missouri on Jan. 12, 93-67. In that road win in Columbia, Mo., McGill led Florida in assists (10), rebounds (11), and steals (2), logging 38 minutes on the floor.
For the second consecutive week, senior Grace Larkins of South Dakota ran away with the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week honor after she averaged a double-double of 39.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in a pair of Coyote victories. She was also named the AP National Player of the Week. In a 77-60 win over St. Thomas (MN) on Jan. 9, Larkins tied her then career-high with 34 points, blistering the nets at a clip of 59% from the floor and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Altoona, Iowa, native followed that performance up with the second-most points scored by an NCAA Division I women’s basketball player so far this season in USD’s 71-66 win over Omaha on Jan. 11. Larkins posted a Coyote single-game scoring record of 45 points to go along with 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals against the Mavericks. She also set the program’s single-game record for field goals in a game with 19 makes.
For the third time in the last four weeks, BYU guard Delaney Gibb was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week. The 5’10 native of Canada led all Big 12 freshmen during the week with 17 points, four assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Gibb had 16 points and four boards in BYU’s 89-75 win over Houston on Jan. 8 and then added 18 points with seven rebounds against then-No. 12 K-State on Jan. 11. She is averaging 16.6 points per game so far this season which ranks her in the top five in the country among all freshmen. This is her fourth weekly recognition of the season.
6’2 junior Zay Dyer has earned back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors after leading Troy to another 2-0 weekend in league play. On Jan. 9 against Appalachian State, the 6’2 forward registered 22 points and 16 rebounds in their 85-68 win. She followed that up with 18 points and 17 rebounds in the 80-72 victory over Georgia State on Jan. 11. The Atlanta, GA native leads the conference in rebounds per game (10.9) which ranks 9th in the country. Dyer has posted 10 double-doubles so far this season, which also leads the Sun Belt and is tied for 6th-most in the nation.
Mia Jacobs of Fresno State was named Mountain West Player of the Week after leading the Bulldogs to two conference wins and posting back-to-back double-doubles. The 6’2 junior had a career-high 32 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in the 77-64 win at San Jose State on Jan. 8. Jacobs, a native of Perth, Australia, then led her team to a 68-62 home victory on Jan. 11 over Boise State, going for 30 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. In the two games, she went 21-for-24 from the free throw line — Jacobs is shooting 86.4% from the charity stripe on the season.
Virginia Tech senior Rose Micheaux has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, after back-to-back 20-point efforts in a pair of conference wins for the Hokies. The 6’2 forward registered her fifth double-double of the season in Virginia Tech’s 105-94 double-overtime victory at then No. 13 Georgia Tech on Jan. 9. She had 20 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the first ACC player to post a double-double against the Yellow Jackets this season. On Jan. 12, Micheaux tied a program record by going 9-for-9 from the field and posting a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds in the Hokies’ 61-54 win over Wake Forest. Virginia Tech has won three in a row and takes on in-state rival Virginia on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Film session
There were a host of questions coming into the South Carolina/Texas match up on Sunday, Jan. 12, but the biggest was how the Gamecocks would respond after losing 6’3 junior Ashlyn Watkins to a season-ending knee injury the week before. Texas came to Columbia, SC riding a nine-game winning streak for their first run at the reigning national champions as a member of the SEC. All questions and doubt were answered early by the Gamecocks, who put their foot on the gas and never let up.
Dawn Staley’s squad shot 71% in the first half and raced to a 39-22 lead after the first 20 minutes. South Carolina’s balance and depth was on full display and Texas did not have an answer. Three Gamecocks hit double figures and junior guard Raven Johnson added eight points and 10 boards while logging over 32 minutes on the floor. Texas is usually the team that dictates the pace and defensive intensity of a game, but the tables were turned on them in one of the toughest women’s basketball environments in the country. The Longhorns did turn South Carolina over 22 times, but they could not capitalize when needed. Sophomore standout Madison Booker had a tough day at the office, going just 3-for-19 from the floor and was held to just seven points — she came in averaging over 15 points per game. When the dust settled, South Carolina stayed perfect in the SEC and won their 11th game in a row 67-50.
The takeaways from this intense post-game film session:
- While the loss of Watkins is still raw for South Carolina, this team and program is built around a culture that everyone is ready when their number is called. Remember then freshman guard Tessa Johnson stepping up in the national championship game last April? This team will play and look different without Watkins, but they are not for a lack of talent — look for an emergence of minutes and production from senior Sania Feagin and others.
- Texas will always hang their cowboy hat on their defense and pressure, but they need to find more balance in the scoring column. South Carolina defended Booker well and forced her into guarded jumpers. While she needs to be better than 3-for-19 there must be others that step up to give more scoring production for the Longhorns as the season goes on.
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Full court press
As we approach mid-January, we start to see the movement in conference standings across the country. Teams are weathering injuries and sickness as best they can and mapping out their next set of road games. Players are back in class soon, so the winter break schedule on repeat of practice, training room, film room and more practice is ending but the pressure is just beginning to mount. Around the corner could be an in-state rival matchup or a road game against the team sitting in last place in the league standings. Tripping up now is not a good look, so everyone must be dialed in – get your rest and focus because the next test could very well be in this slate of games coming up (check your local listings for game times and broadcast availability):
Jan. 15
Cleveland State at Robert Morris
James Madison at Marshall
No. 6 UConn at St. John’s
Colorado at No. 20 West Virginia
Toledo at Western Michigan
UTSA at Memphis
Penn State vs. UCLA (moved to Long Beach, Calif.)
Air Force at UNLV
Jan. 16
Arizona at No. 11 K-State
No. 17 Georgia Tech at No. 3 Notre Dame
Stanford at Wake Forest
Virginia at Virginia Tech
Eastern Illinois at UT-Martin
No. 2 South Carolina at No. 19 Alabama
R/V Mississippi State at No. 15 Tennessee
R/V Nebraska at R/V Iowa
Quinnipiac at Merrimack
No. 18 Cal at No. 16 Duke
No. 9 Ohio State at Wisconsin
Jan. 17
Houston at R/V Baylor
No. 23 Utah at No. 10 TCU
Missouri State at Evansville
Jan. 18
Rutgers at R/V Michigan
Charlotte at Temple
Columbia at Yale
Murray State at Drake
Belmont at UNI
No. 24 Oklahoma State at UCF
Washington State at Santa Clara
Portland at Oregon State
Grand Canyon at Tarleton State
Jan. 19
No. 4 USC at R/V Indiana
No. 5 LSU at Florida
Stanford at No. 16 Duke
Iowa State at No. 20 West Virginia
No. 12 Kentucky at Georgia
No. 24 Minnesota at Northwestern
No. 22 Michigan State at Illinois
No. 19 Alabama at Arkansas
R/V Iowa at Oregon
Jan. 20
No. 1 UCLA vs. R/V Baylor (Prudential Center in New Jersey)
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 8 Maryland (Prudential Center in New Jersey)
Harvard at Penn
Montana at Idaho
Montana State at Eastern Washington
*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!
