January 22, 2025
The Weekly Fast Break: Streaking from coast to coast
The unbeatens, stat streaks & games with meaning
If there is one thing we can count on in college basketball it is that we will always have streaks that dominate the season’s storylines. From wins to loses and game stats to attendance marks, the game will give us our fair share of highs and lows. Unlike Will Ferrell’s character in the movie Old School, the adorable Frank Richard, we will not be streaking across the quad, but from gym to gym across the country to find what’s catching our eye in the women’s game.
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Here at The Weekly Fast Break, we have also had our sights on the year in college football and the newest version of the College Football Playoff (CFP). We have given our advice to the CFP already in how we think they need to adjust their selection criteria in the future. Yet in the end, this new 12-team playoff gave us a great month of games. On Monday, Jan. 20, Ohio State won their first national title since 2014, beating Notre Dame 34-23. For Buckeye fans, the time that passed between national championships must have felt like 100 years, yet now a new streak begins. For Notre Dame, their streak of seasons without a national title in football grows to 36 (1988).
We want to remind you that streaks are like records – they are meant to be broken. Yet as wins add up, or a run of a player’s double-figure rebounding games moves to five, the sense of urgency to keep the streaks alive becomes that much more intense. When the great Pat Summitt said, “offense sells tickets; defense wins games; and rebounding wins championships,” she understood the task at hand – to be at your best, you much embrace the challenge of being the ones to extend a streak or be the reason another one ends.
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Tip-off
Games with a purpose & message
Monday, Jan. 20, the day where we observe the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. across America, also became the perfect opportunity to launch the inaugural Coretta Scott King Classic, a first-of-its kind Division I women’s basketball doubleheader. Taking place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, this event was created under the partnership of Playfly Sports and HBSE (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment), along with their media partner FOX Sports. This is the first licensing agreement done by the King estate to honor the legacy of Dr. and Mrs. King and was with the intention of creating a platform to celebrate female empowerment in sports. Mrs. King lived four decades after the assassination of her husband, committing herself to a lifetime of work that included advocacy and activism in so many areas, including women’s equality and empowerment.
On the court, four elite programs took a brief respite from their grueling conference schedules to take on quality opponents in this special event. No. 1 UCLA took on No. 25 Baylor, handling the Bears 72-57. UCLA jumped out to a big lead, but Baylor responded to pull within eight at halftime. Only one player from Baylor hit double-figures (senior guard Yaya Felder with 10) and could not contain the Bruins’ post-game, dominated by 6’7 Lauren Betts (24 points and 9 blocks). Junior Gabriela Jaquez posted a double-double on the day with 11 points and 13 boards.
In game two, No. 7 Texas jumped on No. 8 Maryland and never looked back, destroying the Terrapins 89-51. Maryland was without guard Bri McDaniel (announced before the game she is out for the season with an ACL injury) and were shorthanded after the second quarter when star guard Shyanne Sellers left with her own undisclosed injury. Texas sophomore sensation Madison Booker delivered a big-time performance, posting 28 points and was one of four Longhorns to hit double-figures. Texas’ defensive pressure caused 27 turnovers, left Maryland 0-for-7 from three and held them to just six points in the second quarter.
And then there were two
There are now just two unbeaten teams left in women’s college basketball after Ohio State was knocked off on Jan. 19 at Penn State 62-59. The Buckeyes sit at 17-1 on the season and are No. 12 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. No. 1 UCLA is 18-0 and has been the best team in the nation up to this point. Head coach Cori Close’s team handled No. 25 Baylor on Monday in the Coretta Scott King Classic 72-57 behind another dominating performance by center Lauren Betts. The 6’7 junior had 24 points, nine boards and nine blocks in 32 minutes and was one of four for UCLA in double figures. On the year, the Bruins lead the nation in rebounding margin (17.3) and are second in field goal percentage defense (32.9%). It is a balanced attack that has kept them unbeaten so far in their first season in the Big Ten.
While a rare snowstorm is blanketing Louisiana this week, the LSU women’s basketball team is on high heat in Baton Rouge. They are the only other undefeated team in the nation (20-0) and preserved their perfect record with an 80-63 win over Florida on Jan. 19. The Tigers have four players averaging double-figures on the season, including senior Aneesah Morrow, who is posting a double-double so far this year (18.7 points and 14.2 boards per game). Head coach Kim Mulkey has her team firing on all cylinders, averaging over 90 points per game (third in the nation) and as team shooting just shy of 50% from the field. Can their unbeaten record hold up on the road at South Carolina? We do not have to wait long to find out – the Tigers will tussle with the Gamecocks this week on Thursday, Jan. 23.
W’s and 3’s
One of the surging mid-major programs that everyone is keeping an eye on out of the MAAC (Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference) is Fairfield. They captured the regular season and conference tournament titles a season ago, earning the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. This year, head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis’ team is 13-3 so far, including a head-turning victory at Arkansas to start the season on Nov. 4, 81-67. It was the first victory ever for the program over an SEC opponent. The Stags were dealt a blow with the loss of all-conference guard Janelle Brown to a season-ending ACL injury in December, but they have found their footing and are streaking through league play. Fairfield won its 30th straight conference game on Jan. 18 over Canisius 97-51. This winning streak against MAAC opponents dates back over 678 calendar days. Next up for the Stags – a home matchup with Manhattan on Jan. 23.
Anyone who has watched Iowa State women’s basketball in the Bill Fennelly era knows that all five players on the floor have the green light from behind the three-point line. The ISU coaches probably will say that some have a brighter light than others, but the Cyclones have an offensive system that has produced wins and a lot of made threes. Lighting it up behind the arc has made it fun for their record-setting number of fans to watch and propelled them to over 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big 12 tournament titles in Fennelly’s tenure. Going into the game on Jan. 14 against Texas Tech, ISU had made at least one three-pointer in 945 consecutive games. This was an NCAA-record streak that dates to February 1995, the final season of Fennelly’s predecessor Theresa Becker. Against Texas Tech, the Cyclones went 0-for-7 from deep but beat the Lady Raiders 71-58. While statistical streaks may come to an end with just one game, the best part is your team can start a new streak the very next night out.
Poll watch
The top eight spots in this week AP Top 25 remain unchanged from last week, giving us all sorts of movement from nine on down. TCU is in at No. 9 and K-State rises to No. 10 this week after losses by Oklahoma and Ohio State, each who fell two and three spots respectively. Tennessee drops to No. 17 after the loss to Vanderbilt and is one of seven SEC teams ranked in the Top 25. The Commodores find themselves receiving votes again this week (9) along with two other conference foes, Mississippi and Mississippi State. West Virginia climbs four spots to No. 16 and Baylor bounces back into the poll at No. 25. Fellow Big 12 teams Utah and Oklahoma State fell out after losses last week and we find two mid-major conferences represented with teams receiving votes. Harvard out of the Ivy League continues to be in the national conversation and South Dakota State from the Summit League garnered two votes as they have started league play 5-0.
Star power
UTSA redshirt senior Jordyn Jenkins was named the Player of the Week in the American Athletic Conference for the third consecutive week. The 6’ forward lead the Roadrunners to a pair of road wins over Memphis (Jan. 15) and UAB (Jan. 18), averaging 19 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two victories. In the 70-68 comeback win against Memphis, Jenkins scored 17 points and pulled in 10 rebounds. This is the fifth weekly award earned by Jenkins’ this season and sixth overall in her career at UTSA.
Gonzaga freshman Allie Turner was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after she set new career highs in points and rebounds in her team’s 69-58 win at Loyola Marymount on Jan. 18. The 5’8 guard had with 23 points and nine boards and was 9-for-18 from the field. She also tied her career high with five made three-pointers. Turner, who hails from St. Louis, MO, has scored 20-plus points three times this year, and has knocked down a three-pointer in all but two games this season. She leads all freshmen and ranks eighth nationally with 57 total three-pointers.
Murray State’s senior Ava Learn was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the week after posting back-to-back double-doubles in the Racers’ first-ever wins against Northern Iowa and Drake. The 6’1 forward had 14 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in the 95-89 victory over UNI on an. 16. She then had 19 points and 13 rebounds on Jan. 18 as the Racers captured the 81-59 road win at Drake. Learn, a native of Pleasant Valley NY, was the only player to record double-figure numbers on the glass in the win over Drake while her 19 rebounds against UNI are tied for the third most in a game this season in the conference.
The American East Conference Player of the Week award went to Caroline Bornemann of Maine after averaging a double-double in two Black Bear victories. The 5’10 guard/forward led Maine to a 71-58 win over NJIT on Jan. 16 as she posted a career-high 34 points to go along with 13 boards for her sixth double-double of the season. She also had a career-best six assists. Along with the 34-point performance, Bornemann registered her 1,000th career point to become just the 26th player in program history to achieve the mark. Bornemann, a native of Denmark, followed that career night up with 8 points and 11 rebounds in the 71-58 Jan. 18 victory over UMBC.
Lindenwood sophomore Gracy Wernli was named the Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week after her two big performances on the road for the Lions. The Abilene Christian transfer was the Lion’s leading scorer, averaging 14.5 points per game while shooting 47.6% from the floor. In the 70-66 loss to Southern Indiana on Jan. 16, Wernli had 14 points and three rebounds and then posted 15 points and went 2-for-4 from behind the arc in her team’s 73-51 win over Morehead State on Jan. 18. She is the second Lion to earn this award this season – sophomore Brooke Coffey has been named Newcomer of the Week twice. The Lions are 10-7 on the season and 6-2 in OVC play. A year ago, Lindenwood won just five conference games total.
Full court press
As fans of our teams, we are always excited for a winning streak, but reality is also part of college basketball in the month of January. Tough road trips, in-state rival matchups, untimely injuries and illness and a bad bounce or call can be the difference between staying on the right side of the winning column. The weather is messy and cold outside so the quad streaking will be at a minimum. Instead, bundle up and tune in for these games over the next week (check your local listings for game times and broadcast availability):
Jan. 22
Holy Cross at Army
Penn State at No. 21 Michigan state
Villanova at No. 6 UConn
Davidson at George Mason
BYU at Iowa State
No. 9 TCU at R/V Oklahoma State
No. 24 Michigan at No. 23 Minnesota
Iowa at Washington
Jan. 23
No. 8 Maryland at No. 12 Ohio State
Bellermine at FGCU
Manhattan at Fairfield
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 7 Texas
No. 5 LSU at No. 2 South Carolina
No. 22 Cal at Stanford
UC Riverside at UC Irvine
Portland at Washington State
Jan. 24
UNI at Southern Illinois
Indiana State at Murray State
Indiana at Oregon
Jan. 25
No. 21 Michigan State at No. 24 Michigan
Albany at NJIT
R/V South Dakota State at South Dakota
Yale at R/V Harvard
Ball State at Northern Illinois
North Alabama at Lipscomb
No. 10 K-State at Colorado
UNLV at San Diego State
R/V Utah at BYU
Drake at Missouri State
No. 16 West Virginia at Arizona
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Jan. 26
Saint Louis at Davidson
Florida State at No. 13 UNC
Navy at Army
No. 1 UCLA at No. 8 Maryland
No. 14 Duke at No. 18 Georgia Tech
Vanderbilt at No. 19 Alabama
No. 7 Texas at Ole Miss
No. 25 Baylor at No. 9 TCU
No. 12 Ohio State at R/V Nebraska
Virginia Tech at No. 20 NC State
Jan. 27
No. 2 South Carolina at No. 17 Tennessee
R/V Mississippi State at Missouri
Indiana at Washington
Jan. 28
New Mexico at Boise State
Southern Indiana at Morehead State
Northwestern at Iowa
*All statistics cited in this column are sourced from university and conference provided statistics
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The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
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!
