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Women’s College Basketball Players Rankings – Class by Class! Week 16

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

We are reaching the end of February and it was another interesting week in women’s college basketball. Some upsets took place and hence there were some key names left off in this week’s list. You’ll notice some new names and with the regular season winding down, it was time to give some more appreciation to over looked colleges.

As always, you can find the previous week’s rankings here. If you have any questions or are a new time reader to these rankings, please read the FAQ page first. Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Feb. 18th to Feb. 24th.

SENIORS

  1. Arike Ogunbowale – Notre Dame
  2. Jessica Shepard – Notre Dame
  3. Katie Lou Samuelson – Connecticut
  4. Napheesa Collier – Connecticut
  5. Brianna Turner – Notre Dame
  6. Kalani Brown – Baylor
  7. Asia Durr – Louisville
  8. Teaira McCowan – Mississippi State
  9. Alanna Smith – Stanford
  10. Kristine Anigwe – California
  11. Bridget Carleton – Iowa State
  12. Kennedy Burke – UCLA
  13. Kiara Leslie – NC State
  14. Paris Kea – North Carolina
  15. Caliya Robinson – Georgia
  16. Taylor Murray – Kentucky
  17. Chloe Jackson – Baylor
  18. Anriel Howard – Mississippi State
  19. Zykera Rice – Gonzaga
  20. Macy Miller – South Dakota State
  21. Megan Huff – Utah
  22. Sam Fuehring – Louisville
  23. Arica Carter – Louisville
  24. Alexis Jennings – South Carolina
  25. Ashton Millender – DePaul
  26. Michelle Weaver – Butler
  27. Charise Wilson – Rutgers
  28. Allazia Blockton – Marquette
  29. Alexa Middleton – Iowa State
  30. Jenna Allen – Michigan State
  31. Reyna Frost – Central Michigan
  32. Destiny Washington – FGCU
  33. Mikayla Ferenz – Idaho
  34. Destinee Walker – Radford
  35. Nicole Iademarco – Rice
  36. Symone Simmons – Wright State

JUNIORS

  1. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  2. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  5. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  6. Tynice Martin – West Virginia
  7. DiJonai Carrington – Stanford
  8. Kiana Moore – Utah
  9. Brenna Wise – Indiana
  10. Juicy Landrum – Baylor
  11. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  12. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  13. Sara Rhine – Drake
  14. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  15. Becca Hittner – Drake
  16. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  17. Peyton Williams – Kansas State
  18. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  19. Hannah Whitish – Nebraska
  20. Kobi Thornton – Clemson
  21. Tagyn Larson – South Dakota State
  22. Phoebe Sterba – Pennsylvania
  23. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  24. Lauren Dickerson – Miami (Ohio)
  25. C’coriea Foy – NC A&T
  26. Siyeh Frazier – Penn State
  27. Maddie Wright – Belmont

SOPHOMORES

  1. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  2. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  3. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  4. Nancy Mulkey – Rice
  5. Aleah Goodman – Oregon State
  6. Aisha Sheppard – Virginia Tech
  7. Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  8. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  9. Ana Llanusa – Oklahoma
  10. Andra Espinoza – Hunter – Mississippi State
  11. Bre Cavanaugh – Fordham
  12. Nina Augustin – Robert Morris
  13. Shannon Titus – Mercer
  14. Dor Saar – Maine
  15. Jaedyn De La Cerda – New Mexico
  16. Alyric Scott – Southern
  17. Paisley Johnson – BYU
  18. Georgia Dale – California Baptist

FRESHMEN

  1. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  2. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  3. Naz Hillmon – Michigan
  4. Emily Engstler – Syracuse
  5. Janai Crooms – Ohio State
  6. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
  7. Charli Collier – Texas
  8. Miya Crump – Lamar
  9. Claire Chastain – UT Arlington

2019 WNBA Mock Draft Version 2.0

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The 2019 WNBA Draft is less than two months away from now and it’s starting to get really exciting as March and April are very busy for the women’s college basketball world and the WNBA world. Now that we are near the end of February, it’s time to release my second version of the WNBA Mock Draft. You can read the first version here. I will release another updated version next month in March, during the time of the NCAA Tournament. From now on, I have also listed college eligible juniors and international players.

ROUND ONE

  1. Las Vegas Aces – Sabrina Ionescu**
  2. New York Liberty – Asia Durr
  3. Indiana Fever – Kalani Brown
  4. Chicago Sky – Napheesa Collier
  5. Dallas Wings – Teaira McCowan
  6. Minnesota Lynx – Arike Ogunbowale
  7. Los Angeles Sparks – Katie Lou Samuelson
  8. Phoenix Mercury – Megan Gustafson
  9. Connecticut Sun – Jessica Shepard
  10. Washington Mystics – Jackie Young**
  11. Atlanta Dream – Kristine Anigwe
  12. Seattle Storm – Brianna Turner

ROUND TWO

  1. Phoenix Mercury – Sophie Cunningham
  2. New York Liberty – Marina Mabrey
  3. Chicago Sky – Natisha Hiedeman
  4. Minnesota Lynx – Anriel Howard
  5. Dallas Wings – Eziyoda Magbegor
  6. Minnesota Lynx – Tynice Martin
  7. Los Angeles Sparks – Alanna Smith
  8. Minnesota Lynx – Hallie Thome
  9. Connecticut Sun – Maci Morris
  10. Dallas Wings – Kennedy Burke
  11. Atlanta Dream – Bridget Carleton
  12. Seattle Storm – Kianna Ibis

ROUND THREE

  1. Indiana Fever – Maite Cazorla
  2. New York Liberty – Kayla Goth
  3. Chicago Sky – Allazia Blockton
  4. Indiana Fever – Kitija Laksa
  5. Dallas Wings – Amy Okonkwo
  6. Minnesota Lynx – Cierra Dillard
  7. Los Angeles Sparks – Laura Stockton
  8. Phoenix Mercury – Morgan Bertsch
  9. Connecticut Sun – Teniya Page
  10. Washington Mystics – Kiara Leslie
  11. Atlanta Dream – Kennedy Leonard
  12. Seattle Storm – Zykera Rice

 

 

 

Women’s College Basketball Rankings – Class by Class! Week 13

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

It was an eventful week as top teams got upset and other teams started to show why they could be very deadly come March. Parity has slowly crept in the women’s college basketball game and it is great news for both the student athletes as well as the women’s college basketball fanbase.  I’m sure these upcoming weeks will be just as eventful.

*For ONLY this week, the list for juniors stops at 25 and the freshmen stops at 8, instead of the usual 27 juniors and 9 freshmen. That will be back to the usual next week. *

If you are a first time reader or you have questions regarding these rankings, please read the FAQ page. If you have any comments or suggestions, leave them in the comments section and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

With that being said, listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 25 (!) juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 8 (!)  freshmen for the week of Jan. 28th to Feb. 3rd.

SENIORS

  1. Asia Durr – Louisville
  2. Bridget Carleton – Iowa State
  3. Kalani Brown – Baylor
  4. Teaira McCowan – Mississippi State
  5. Kristine Anigwe – California
  6. Naomi Davenport – West Virginia
  7. Arike Ogunbowale – Notre Dame
  8. Alexis Jennings – South Carolina
  9. Marina Mabrey – Notre Dame
  10. Napheesa Collier – Connecticut
  11. Allazia Blockton – Marquette
  12. Amy Okonkwo – TCU
  13. Kiara Leslie – NC State
  14. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  15. Bianca Cuevas-Moore – South Carolina
  16. Katie Lou Samuelson – Connecticut
  17. Maite Cazorla – Oregon
  18. Erika Davenport – Marquette
  19. Kianna Ibis – Arizona State
  20. Kenisha Bell – Minnesota
  21. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  22. Stasha Carey – Rutgers
  23. Regan Magarity – Virginia Tech
  24. Macy Miller – South Dakota State
  25. Hallie Thome – Michigan
  26. Courtney Ekmark – Arizona State
  27. Zykera Rice – Gonzaga
  28. Allison Arens – South Dakota
  29. Laura Stockton – Gonzaga
  30. Parise Rossignol – Maine
  31. Reyna Frost – Central Michigan
  32. Grace Kenyon – Idaho State
  33. Kourtney Eaton – UC Davis
  34. Amanda Thompson – Mercer
  35. Paula Strautmane – Quinnipiac
  36. Symone Simmons – Wright State

JUNIORS

  1. Tynice Martin – West Virginia
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Jackie Young – Notre Dame
  5. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  6. Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  7. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  8. Kianna Ray – TCU
  9. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  10. DiJonai Carrington – Stanford
  11. Kiah Gillespie – Florida State
  12. Shay Colley – Michigan State
  13. Mary Gedaka – Villanova
  14. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  15. Nausia Woolfolk – Florida State
  16. Korneila Wright – UCF
  17. Nasrin Ulel – FCGU
  18. Lydia Rivers – Radford
  19. Erica Ogwumike – Rice
  20. Ellie Harmeyer – Belmont
  21. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  22. Gia Pack – New Mexico State
  23. Nneka Ezeigbo – Robert Morris
  24. Cinia McCray – North Carolina A&T
  25. Ellie Mack – Bucknell

SOPHOMORES

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Dana Evans – Louisville
  3. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  4. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  5. Kristin Scott – Iowa State
  6. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  7. Aleah Goodman – Oregon State
  8. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  9. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  10. Unique Thompson – Auburn
  11. Sidney Cooks – Michigan State
  12. Digna Strautmane – Syracuse
  13. Eleah Parker – Pennsylvania
  14. DiDi Richards – Baylor
  15. Tera Reed – VCU
  16. Brice Calip –  Missouri State
  17. Alyric Scott – Southern
  18. Jasmine Jones – Loyola Marymount

FRESHMEN

  1. Dara Mabrey – Virginia Tech
  2. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  3. Raeyana DeGray – Little Rock
  4. Miya Crump – Lamar
  5. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  6. Victaria Saxton – South Carolina
  7. Destanni Henderson – South Carolina
  8. Jayla Everett – New Mexico

My WNBA coverage and what to expect this season

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while since my last blog post so I thought I would just quickly update all of my readers and subscribers (thank you!!) on what they can expect from me this WNBA season. I am going to be writing articles with a major focus on the Dallas Wings and the Atlanta Dream at http://www.hashtagbasketball.com/wnba. I will still watch the WNBA and other teams but if you follow those two teams closely, I will be too.

As for the blog, I will still post every two weeks to keep up with the latest WNBA information and or other interesting tidbits. I have a very busy summer ahead of me, but that does not mean the WNBA season stops. I may be absent here or there throughout the summer due to some personal family commitments so apologies if I miss certain days or if I don’t post articles, etc.

Thank you everyone for always reading this blog. I appreciate your support and I hope you continue to support during the WNBA season!

– Aneela

2018 EuroLeague Women Final Four Semi finals Recap

~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well. It’s been a while since I last posted a blog post and I thought I would recap both the EuroLeague Women Final Four semi finals games.

Semi Final Game #1 : UMMC vs Dynamo Kursk

There will be a new champion in EuroLeague Women as Russian powerhouse UMMC defeated the reigning champion Dynamo Kursk by a final score of 84 to 77.

Led by Maya Moore’s 28 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, UMMC was efficient both on the perimeter and in the paint. After UMMC Ekatrinburg took a two point lead after the first quarter, Dynamo Kursk stormed back and took a nine point lead thanks to the play of Angel McCoughtry who came off the bench. However, the lead was short lived as UMMC came storming back and was only down by one at the half. In the third quarter, UMMC was red hot and Dynamo Kursk just didn’t have enough scoring power other than Angel McCoughtry to keep up. UMMC was then able to control the game from that excellent third quarter and maintained the lead to grab a win. Now, UMMC will have a chance to become Euroleague champions when they face off in the final versus either Sopron or YDU this Sunday, April 22nd.  Not only was Maya Moore excellent but Brittney Griner, Emma Messeman and Kristi Toliver helped in delivering a great win for UMMC Ekatrinburg.

Semi Final Game #2: Yakin Dogu vs Sopron Basket

The fairytale season continues on for Sopron Basket. They are heading to the Euroleague Women final versus UMMC. Sopron Basket took full advantage of the Euroleague Women Final Four being held in Sopron. From the start of the game, they took control of the game and played stellar defense versus the Euroleague’s scoring leader Kayla McBride and caused several turnovers that led to easy baskets for Sopron. They never allowed Yakin Dogu to get comfortable. They went into halftime with a 10 point lead.

After halftime, it was a different story. Despite maintaining the lead, Yakin Dogu was able to get easier baskets both on the perimeter and in the paint. Yakin Dogu’s defence was much better in the second half which caused problems for Sopron. They had trouble scoring and Yakin Dogu came back. With roughly 3 minutes left, Yakin Dogu and Sopron Basket held brief leads over another until the score was tied at 65 a piece. Jelena Milavonic then hit a huge three pointer with about two seconds remaining. Yakin Dogu then recieved a 5 second violation on the other end which sealed the deal for Sopron. This is a historic win for Sopron as they head off to the title game taking place on Sunday April 22nd.

Mainstream media coverage on women’s basketball and WNBA and how it correlates to growing the fan base

~ Aneela Khan ~ 3 Comments

I’ve been pondering over writing this blog post and whether or not people will actually read this post. This is a topic that ever since I first became aware of women’s basketball nine years ago never seems to go away. Or have a solution. It’s one of the struggles that many great WNBA/WBB fans and passionate writers and bloggers have to face every day.

As many of us know, when it comes to sports, the four main men’s sports get all the coverage and love from both fans and media companies alike. I’m talking about the NFL (which in some parts of the United States, it’s more like a religion), the NBA (once again, in some parts of the United States and world wide, it’s also the biggest sport), the NHL (this is HUGE in Canada, and in few parts in the United States) and MLB (which is America’s favorite summer past time).

So, in turn the four main men’s sports get a huge chunk of TV money from big name media companies such as ABC, ESPN, Sportsnet and TSN(HUGE in Canada), CBS, TNT, FOXSports, etc. This leaves very little TV money to give to other sports. What gets left over goes to women and men’s tennis, NASCAR, golf, gymnastics, etc. The remaining goes to the niche sports.  Women’s college basketball and the WNBA fall into that category.

It’s not just the TV companies who pull this type of move. It’s the newspapers(although to be fair, newspapers are dying), radio, online magazines/websites, etc. They only provide in depth coverage of those four main men’s sports. They only send their major beat writers to cover those events and send their columnists to write an opinion on those games. It’s like a well oiled machine for those four main major men’s sports, not only in the US and Canada, but world wide as well.

So, what does this have to with the WNBA/women’s college basketball coverage? Well, it’s pretty obvious. If all of the TV broadcasts and media focus on just those sports, there leaves absolutely little coverage for the women’s basketball world. No major sports personality is asking questions on TV on why the WNBA does not have their official draft details out yet, even though the draft is in less than three weeks! No major columnist is talking about how the WNBA Training camp will go and which players are in good shape, etc. Because of this, the WNBA/WBB world does not have any added pressure to release their details. Nor, will they have to because no major sports person will be there to release it to the public.

This may sound like I’m being pessimistic about the coverage that there is out there, considering there are some pretty good ESPN podcasts and one good ESPN writer who covers both the WNBA/WBB which is great. There are also some very good independent websites and great podcasts out there online too. I’m not complaining about that coverage, I’m complaining about the fact the WNBA/WBB world will never have as strong as a fan base simply because the TV/media coverage is non existent compared to major sports out there.

For example, if I take my friend right now to a WNBA game between the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics at the Verizon Center, and the Mystics take care of the Sun easily and win in impressive fashion, my friend is impressed. Now, they want to know how they can keep track of the Mystics. I’ll tell them all my favorite Twitter handles, my favorite independent WNBA websites and some great podcasts. They say thanks, and check them out. Now, they are hooked onto the Mystics. They can’t get enough. But, now they want more. That coverage alone isn’t enough. They want to hear the Mystics on the radio. They want their favorite major sports personality to discuss the Mystics on TV. But, sadly, they won’t get it. They won’t get it on ESPN either. My friend is now upset. They’ll still check on the Mystics once in a while to see how they are doing, and tries to attend the games, but the fan level is diminished. They are now longer obsessed. And that is one way the WNBA loses their fans.

It’s a vicious cycle. This just doesn’t apply to fans either. It applies to great talented writers and bloggers who once wrote about the WNBA and women’s college basketball, but had to drop the coverage altogether because they couldn’t make a living out of it unlike their fellow writers and columnists who cover those major men’s sports. This is such a shame because the WNBA/women’s basketball world loses those talented writers who wanted to cover the WNBA athletes and stories but couldn’t due to a lack of interest (from those major media/TV companies)

The WNBA/women’s basketball executives need to stand up and demand respect for their league and better coverage. They need to figure out how to get more than just NINE games on ESPN. They need better communication from league executives down to their fans. If ESPN can not provide the coverage they need, they need to add another TV partner. Or, get creative and figure out a new way to integrate new content. They need to push the media, both TV and newspapers to give them better access. They deserve that much. It’s time. If the league continues this way, there won’t be a league at all.

I won’t lie. There are tough days to cover the WNBA/women’s basketball world. No, this is not my day job. It’s hard getting simple releases, difficult getting easy answers, etc. But, I continue writing/tweeting about the sport simply because it deserves the coverage. I’m here to continue it while I still can. I will write for those great athletes that need their stories to be told on other women’s basketball websites. My voice will still be here. But it’s a damn shame, that we have lost so many great fans/writers due to this vicious cycle.

Women’s College Basketball Player Weekly Rankings – Week 13! Class by Class!

~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

We are officially one month away from conference tournaments starting and a month away from the regular season coming to a close. This 2016/2017 regular season has been memorable and there’s still plenty of good action left.

Without any further ado, listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Jan 30th to Feb 5th.

Note: *Before we jump into Week 13 rankings, I just thought I would clear some confusion regarding the rankings. These are weekly rankings, based on games played from the week before. These are NOT overall rankings. If a player’s team did not play that week or was injured, they will NOT be on the list that week. These player rankings were designed to see which players were consistently playing well from week to week. I am checking in and on around 52(!!!) schools each week to get a fair assessment on top players. There’s no bias in these rankings, so if your player is moved around, that just means another player had a better week against stronger competition, or was not the best player on their team during that week. I always check and give credit to players who perform well vs top 25 teams, top 10 teams, etc. I also look into the blowouts and assess the players fairly there as well. I hope this clears the confusion*

For the previous week rankings, you can find them here. If you have any questions, you can check my FAQ page here. If you have a comment or suggestion, feel free to write it in my comments section or contact me via Twitter at @whoopsblogger

SENIORS

  1. Alaina Coates – South Carolina
  2. Chantel Osahor – Washington
  3. Kelsey Plum – Washington
  4. Brionna Jones – Maryland
  5. Sydney Wiese – Oregon State
  6. Tori Jankoska – Michigan State
  7. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough – Maryland
  8. Nina Davis – Baylor
  9. Alexis Jones – Baylor
  10. Alexis Peterson – Syracuse
  11. Brianna Day – Syracuse
  12. Britney Sykes – Syracuse
  13. Makayla Epps – Kentucky
  14. Miah Spencer – NC State
  15. Kelsey Lang – Texas
  16. Karlie Samuelson – Stanford
  17. Erica McCall – Stanford
  18. Breanna Lewis – Kansas State
  19. Leticia Romero – Florida State
  20. Alexis Prince – Baylor
  21. Maddie Manning – Oklahoma
  22. Peyton Little – Oklahoma
  23. Evelyn Akahtor – Kentucky
  24. Nia Coffey – Northwestern
  25. Lindsay Allen – Notre Dame
  26. Ally Disterhoft – Iowa
  27. Taya Reimer – Michigan State
  28. Adrienne Motley – Miami
  29. Curtyce Knox – Texas A&M
  30. Brittany Brown – Florida State
  31. Brooke Schulte – DePaul
  32. Sophie Brunner – Arizona State
  33. Courtney Range – California
  34. Precious Hall – James Madison
  35. Ellen Nystrom – Colorado State
  36. Elin Gustavsson – Colorado State

JUNIORS

  1. Kelsey Mitchell – Ohio State
  2. Diamond DeShields – Tennessee
  3. Victoria Vivians – Mississippi State
  4. A’ja Wilson – South Carolina
  5. Jamie Nared – Tennessee
  6. Mercedes Russell – Tennessee
  7. Gabby Williams – Connecticut
  8. Rebecca Greenwell – Duke
  9. Lexie Brown – Duke
  10. Allisha Gray – South Carolina
  11. Brianna Turner – Notre Dame
  12. Jordin Canada – UCLA
  13. Monique Billings – UCLA
  14. Shakayla Thomas – Florida State
  15. Katelynn Flaherty – Michigan
  16. Kia Nurse – Connecticut
  17. Brooke McCarty – Texas
  18. Aerial Atkins – Texas
  19. Stephanie Mavunga – Ohio State
  20. Mariya Moore – Louisville
  21. Ciera Porter – Missouri
  22. Khaalia Hillsman – Texas A&M
  23. Kaylee Jensen – Oklahoma State
  24. Marie Gulich – Oregon State
  25. Mikayla Cowling – California
  26. Amanda Cahill – Indiana
  27. Lauren Moses – Virginia

SOPHOMORES

  1. Napheesa Collier – Connecticut
  2. Katie Lou Samuelson – Connecticut
  3. Sophie Cunningham – Missouri
  4. Kristine Anigwe – California
  5. Kennedy Leonard – Colorado
  6. Megan Gustafson – Iowa
  7. Hallie Thome – Michigan
  8. Teniya Page – Penn State
  9. Marina Mabrey – Notre Dame
  10. Arike Ogunbowale – Notre Dame
  11. Anriel Howard – Texas A&M
  12. Maria Jespersen – South Florida
  13. Allazia Blockton – Marquette
  14. Kennisha Bell – Minnesota
  15. Kalani Brown – Baylor
  16. Bridget Carleton – Iowa State
  17. Jill Barta – Gonzaga
  18. Caliya Robinson – Georgia

FRESHMEN

  1. Kysre Gondrezick – Michigan
  2. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  3. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  4. Destiny Slocum – Maryland
  5. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  6. Andrayah Adams – St. John’s
  7. Tori McCoy – Ohio State
  8. Leaonna Odom – Duke
  9. Kayla Overbeck – Vanderbilt