Author: Aneela Khan

Hello there! My name is Aneela Khan and I am a blogger / writer located in Toronto, Ontario Canada. I am currently blogging on news, life, thoughts, etc on this blog address www.thoughthinkerx.wordpress.com. I also blog on the WNBA and one of it's teams in the San Antonio Silver Stars at this address www.sasilverstars.wordpress.com. I love to read & write, travelling, hanging out with friends and family and I love the colour purple! I hope you come to love my blogs!! Aneela

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 1

Lexie Hull of Stanford University
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The women’s college basketball season is in full swing and we have new players to watch for, upcoming teams and new story lines to keep track of this season. This is the third year of tracking and ranking college players and it is been a labor of love and hard work that goes with these rankings.

I always get asked the same questions about how players are ranked and how they end up on this list in this particular order, so to those new readers or first time visitors to my blog, you can read my FAQ page. If you have any other questions that are not on there, you can always leave them in the comments or contact me via Twitter. My handle is @whoopsblogger.

Listed below is the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Nov. 6th to Nov. 11th.

SENIORS

  1.  Asia Durr – Louisville
  2. Arike Ogunbowale – Notre Dame
  3. Katie Lou Samuelson – Connecticut
  4. Kalani Brown – Baylor
  5. Teaira McCowan – Mississippi
  6. Sophie Cunningham – Missouri
  7. Kristine Anigwe – California
  8. Megan Gustafson – Iowa
  9. Bridget Carleton –  Iowa State
  10. Jessica Shepard – Notre Dame
  11. Napheesa Collier – Connecticut
  12. Kennedy Leonard – Colorado
  13. Caliya Robinson – Georgia
  14. Hallie Thome – Michigan
  15. Maite Cazorla – Oregon
  16. Natisha Hiedeman – Marquette
  17. Allazia Blockton – Marquette
  18. Kitija Laksa – South Florida
  19. Alanna Smith – Stanford
  20. Paris Kea – North Carolina
  21. Lashann Higgs – Texas
  22. Brianna Turner – Notre Dame
  23. Rebekah Dahlman – DePaul
  24. Janiah McKay – Auburn
  25. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami (FL)
  26. Chloe Jackson – Baylor
  27. Kianna Ibis – Arizona State
  28. Hannah Stewart – Iowa
  29. Ashton Millender – DePaul
  30. Jordan Moore – TCU
  31. Christalah Lyons – Kansas
  32. Courtney Ekmark – Arizona State
  33. LaTashia Jones – Oklahoma State
  34. Gabby Green – LMU
  35. Laura Stockton – Gonzaga
  36. Sydney Skinner – Harvard

JUNIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  4. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  5. Kiah Gillespie – Florida State
  6. Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  7. Minyon Moore – USC
  8. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  9. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  10. Jaelyn Brown – California
  11. Tynice Martin – West Virginia
  12. Te’a Cooper – South Carolina
  13. Amber Melgoza – Washington
  14. Grace Hunter – NC State
  15. Aislinn Konig – NC State
  16. Jackie Young – Notre Dame
  17. Kobi Thornton – Clemson
  18. Taja Cole – Georgia
  19. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  20. Amber Smith – Missouri
  21. Becca Hittner – Drake
  22. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  23. Emma Guy – Boston College
  24. Taylor Frederick – South Dakota
  25. Alexis Tolefree – Arkansas
  26. Taiye Bello – Minnesota
  27. Shadeen Samuels – Seton Hall

SOPHOMORES

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Ivana Raca – Wake Forest
  3. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  4. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  5. Mia Davis – Temple
  6. Shaina Pellington – Oklahoma
  7. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  8. Destiny Littleton – Texas
  9. Erin Boley – Oregon
  10. Macee Williams – IUPUI
  11. Karissa McLaughlin – Purdue
  12. Bianca Jackson – South Carolina
  13. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  14. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  15. Sidney Cooks – Michigan State
  16. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  17. Chloe Bibby – Mississippi State
  18. Hailey Brown – Michigan

FRESHMEN

  1. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  2. Lexie Hull – Stanford
  3. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  4. Dara Mabrey – Virginia Tech
  5. Beatriz Jordao – South Florida
  6. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
  7. Noga Peleg Pelc – Rutgers
  8. Destanni Henderson – South Carolina
  9. Imani Lewis – Wisconsin

Preseason Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class!

Asia Durr
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

It is that time of year once again! The start of the new women’s college basketball season is upon us with multiple story lines and players to watch for. This also means the women’s college basketball players rankings are back! This is the third year of compiling these rankings and they take a lot of time, energy and effort. It is a pleasure to do them every year, but keep in mind that these rankings can change from now until March. I have received tons of feedback over the years on these rankings and it is great to see how they have been received from the women’s basketball community. Thank you all for the constant support on these rankings. I sincerely appreciate it.

The preseason rankings are combined of a combination of what happened last year and what is most likely predicted this season from the players. Remember, this list can change and new players can be added OR subtracted from the list. These rankings can change and are updated weekly. These rankings are designed to help gauge who really are the top players in women’s college basketball and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to read the FAQ regarding these rankings. Any additional questions or queries, leave them in the comments and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Listed below are the preseason rankings for the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for 2018-2019. Curious to see who made last year’s preseason rankings? Click here for that list.

*Note: Only active players are listed below. Transfer and or red-shirt players are included if they are playing this season*

SENIORS

  1. Asia Durr – Louisville
  2. Kalani Brown – Baylor
  3. Teaira McCowan – Mississippi State
  4. Arike Ogunbowale – Notre Dame
  5. Sophie Cunningham – Missouri
  6. Napheesa Collier – Connecticut
  7. Katie Lou Samuelson – Connecticut
  8. Megan Gustafson – Iowa
  9. Kitija Laksa – South Florida
  10. Kristine Anigwe – California
  11. Anriel Howard – Texas A&M
  12. Allazia Blockton – Marquette
  13. Kennedy Leonard – Colorado
  14. Jessica Shepard – Notre Dame
  15. Caliya Robinson – Georgia
  16. Bridget Carleton – Iowa State
  17. Kenisha Bell – Minnesota
  18. Lashaan Higgs – Texas
  19. Kennedy Burke – UCLA
  20. Alanna Smith – Stanford
  21. Naomi Davenport – West Virginia
  22. Alexis Jennings – South Carolina
  23. Khaalia Hillsman – Texas A&M
  24. Kianna Ibis – Arizona State
  25. Paris Kea – North Carolina
  26. Maite Cazorla – Oregon
  27. Teniya Page – Penn State
  28. Kiara Leslie – NC State
  29. Amy Okonkwo – TCU
  30. Jaisa Nunn – New Mexico State
  31. Mart’e Grays – DePaul
  32. Carmen Grande – Ball State
  33. Chanette Hicks – Virginia Tech
  34. Zykera Rice – Gonzaga
  35. Chloe Jackson – LSU
  36. Rosemarie Julien – FGCU

JUNIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  5. Jackie Young – Notre Dame
  6. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  7. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  8. Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  9. Taryn McCutcheon – Michigan State
  10. Kelly Jekot – Villanova
  11. Leaonna Odom – Duke
  12. Robbi Ryan – Arizona State
  13. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  14. Peyton Williams – Kansas State
  15. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  16. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  17. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  18. Hannah Whitish – Nebraska
  19. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  20. DiJonai Carrington – Stanford
  21. Mackenzie Meyer – Iowa
  22. Shay Colley – Michigan State
  23. Reili Richardson – Arizona State
  24. Kelly Campbell – DePaul
  25. Becca Hitner – Drake
  26. Nicea Eliely – Nebraska
  27. Jeannie Boehm – Harvard

SOPHOMORES

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  3. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  4. Annika Jank – Colorado
  5. Kate Cain – Nebraska
  6. Evina Westbrook – Tennessee
  7. Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  8. Kianna Smith – California
  9. Shaina Pellington – Oklahoma
  10. Karissa McLaughlin – Purdue
  11. Hailey Brown – Michigan
  12. Mia Davis – Temple
  13. Mykea Gray – Miami
  14. Elah Parker – Penn
  15. Karly Murphy – Green Bay
  16. Kianna Williams – Stanford
  17. Bianca Jackson – South Carolina
  18. Sidney Cooks – Michigan State

FRESHMEN

  1. Charli Collier – Texas
  2. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  3. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  4. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  5. Olivia Nelson – Ododa – Connecticut
  6. Destanni Henderson – South Carolina
  7. Catherine Reese – Arizona
  8. Lexie Hull – Stanford
  9. Aquira DeCosta – Baylor

Canada’s Performance at the World Championships

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The FIBA World Cup was over on Sunday and to no surprise, the United States won the gold medal. It was great to see Australia make a comeback and win the silver medal. Spain won the bronze medal and Belgium finished a historic fourth place. However, Team Canada did not fare that well. After finishing group play undefeated, they lost to Spain in the semi finals and barely beat Nigeria to finish in 7th place. This was a disappointing ending to a promising start for the Canadians and once again, the Canadians have work to do if they want to medal in these top competitions. We shall just have to wait to see the Canadians can improve and get better.

– Aneela

The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team is off to a hot start in Tenerife, Spain

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team is 2-0 after two wins in group play against Korea and Greece over the weekend. This is a great start for the senior team who hopes to medal during these World Championships. Kia Nurse is off to a hot start as she has averaged nearly 20.5 (!!!) points per game in the two wins. Team Canada will face France to decide the winner of Group A tomorrow in the final game of the group phase. This game should be very interesting and can be viewed on Dazn OR livebasketball.tv

Listed below are the two box scores and game highlights from both games.

BOX SCORE 0F CANADA VS GREECE

Game highlights of Canada vs Greece

BOX SCORE OF CANADA VS KOREA

Game highlights of Canada vs Korea

 

My final thoughts on the 2018 WNBA season

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

Wow. I cannot believe the 2018 WNBA season is over. It seems surreal to me that the time just flew by. It feels like it was just yesterday that the 2018 WNBA season got underway. It was by far the most fastest, hectic, rewarding and amazing season. The Twitter support I received along with writing articles for Hashtag Basketball made the season go faster than normal for me. It was a ton of fun writing and interacting with people via on Twitter. Thank you to everyone who took time to read my articles. It meant the world to me. This season was by far the most fulfilling season for me on a personal level because I got to connect with a new basketball audience that was not there in previous seasons. I got to reach out to other basketball fans and try to bridge the gap between the WNBA and other sports fans. It was so nice to see other outlets cover the WNBA in their own unique way and try to bring more coverage forward. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you who also viewed this blog when looking for updates. The blog was not frequently as updated as in previous seasons, but I will have coverage of the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Championship — specifically for Team Canada.

Thanks for always tweeting, reading, commenting, interacting on various mediums on the WNBA this year. I may have not always replied, but I always appreciated. Thank you to everyone for the constant support. I appreciate you all!

Best wishes,

Aneela

 

 

The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team – Road to the FIBA World Cup Part III

~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

NOTE: The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team has qualified for the upcoming FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup taking place from Sept 22 – 30th in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Leading up to the event, every month there will be a preview on the Canadian team.

TORONTO – The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team is back in action. Today, they kicked off the start of their training camp where the invited players will have a chance to compete for a spot on the World Championship team.

The Canadian team is currently ranked 5th in the world and have a great shot to medal at the upcoming World Championships, so picking the right roster is very important.

I have already discussed in previous months, who I think will make the roster and what the expectations are heading into the World Championships, so for this post, I will take a closer look at the competition for the Canadians.

There are 16 teams that have qualified for the FIBA World Championships and are divided into four groups. In Group A, the Canadians will face off against Korea, Greece and France. France will be the toughest country to battle for the Canadians as they have premier talent in Olivia Époupa and Céline Dumerc. Korea and Greece are still growing their women’s basketball programs and the Canadians should be able to fare well against them in group play.

In Group B, Australia, Turkey, Argentina and Nigeria face off. Australia looks to be the leader as they have a solid roster led by premier talent in Liz Cambage. Australia is a traditional basketball powerhouse and will look to continue their dominance in this group. The hardest competition that Australia will face is against Turkey. Turkey has improved vastly over the years in women’s basketball as they finished fourth in the 2014 world championships. They are led by Işıl Alben and Quanitra Hollingsworth. Look for the Australia vs Turkey games to be competitive.

In Group C, Japan, Puerto Rico, Belgium and Spain face off. Spain will be the leader in this group as they have also improved vastly over the years and were the silver medal winners in the 2016 Olympics. They also came first in last year’s Eurobasket competition. Japan and Puerto Rico are still continuing to improve their women’s national team program. Belgium is starting to be competitive and are led by Emma Messeman. However, Spain has been dominant as of late and should easily win this group.

Finally in the last group which is Group D, Latvia, Senegal, China and the headliner of the field, the United States face off. The clear cut winner of this group is the United States. They have premier talent in Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, etc. They should have an easy time winning this group as the rest of the teams in this group have a ways to go before they can compete with the United States.

The Canadians clearly have their work cut out for them. After training camp, they go on to play in exhibition games against Japan (Sept. 7th) and the United States (Sept. 8th) in Webster’s Bank Arena in Connecticut. After the two game exhibition series, the Canadians will travel to France to play in a four game mini tournament against France, Senegal and the US (again) for two days. (Sept 15th- 17th)

The road to the FIBA World Championships countdown is on. There are 22 days left until the competition starts so the Canadians need to be ready to play.

WNBA Draft Lottery — Who will win the #1 overall pick?

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The 2019 WNBA Draft Lottery will take place tonight during half time of the WNBA semi final game 2 (Washington vs Atlanta). The four worst teams in the league this season have the opportunity to grab a great college player in yet another deep WNBA draft class.

The four worst teams this season were the Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. The lottery rules have shifted and instead of the 1 year record, it now accounts for 2 years (or seasons). So, this means that the Fever and the Sky have the best odds of landing a top 2 pick. The Las Vegas Aces improved significantly this season but can still land a top 3 pick. The “worst” odds out of all the teams belongs to the New York Liberty. The Liberty were great in 2017, and that great year will affect them for this draft lottery. However, it should be noted that finishing fourth in this year’s lottery is not that bad. There are a ton of talented players available and the Liberty should fare well.

Keeping all that in mind, I believe that lottery drawings are a luck of the draw. The Indiana Fever REALLY need this top pick and would be thrilled to have it. However, I do not think the Fever will win tonight. I have a feeling it will be the Chicago Sky who come away with the #1 overall pick. I think the Fever will pick #2, the Aces at #3 and the Liberty at #4 overall. (I could be totally wrong, and it could just be the Fever who finally manage to win the #1 overall pick)

Whatever team will end up winning the #1 overall pick in 2019, they will have plenty of talented senior college players to choose from. Players such as Teaira McCowan, Asia Durr, Arike Ogunbowale, Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier, Kalani Brown and more. I tracked all of the college players for two years running and here was the latest on who the top overall junior player was for 2018.

This could change a WNBA teams fortune. So, who do you think will win the #1 overall pick? Tune in tonight to find out!