Tag: Women’s College Basketball

WNBA Virtual Draft Recap — A Honest Review

wnba draft, wnba, women's basketball
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

The WNBA Draft took place tonight on ESPN. It was held virtually, due in part to the global pandemic and taking social distancing seriously. It was going to be an experiment for other sports leagues to see if they could also pull it off. Pulling this off was not going to be easy because of technological glitches, different WiFi structures, delays, etc.

The virtual WNBA Draft actually started off really well. They had a great introduction, honoured Gigi Bryant, Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester in a nice tribute, had great studio integration with Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco and Sue Bird had intelligent insight into certain players. She would make a fantastic head coach or TV analyst, she’d be great at both. It is absolutely normal for the #1 pick to have a ton of TV air time and to take up around the first 15 minutes of draft coverage. Sabrina Ionescu does deserve that coverage. She shined in college, she deserves that spotlight.

As a matter of fact, the first couple of picks were just fine. It’s when they got to the 4th pick in Chennedy Carter, and she did not have a proper microphone. The TV viewer can hear the conversation echo back and forth between her and Holly Rowe which is not great. By the way, Chennedy Carter is going to be a fantastic WNBA player. She’s going to be electric. Moving onto the 6th pick in Mikiah Herbert Harrigan in which they did not even interview her. I don’t even think ESPN realized that they missed her interview completely. I know that they acknowledged that that the 8th pick Ruthy Hebard was having some technical delays in terms of TV interview but that’s it. They never circled back.

I think ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA first round was actually pretty good. Minor problems. The issues that arose happened right around the 13th pick. We got the announcements from the commissioner on picks 13, 14, and 15 but after that, we just got them on the bottom of our screens. No offense, but when it is on TV commercials, that is when people look away, or reply to texts, emails, etc. No one is looking at the bottom of their TV screens.

On a personal level, when I am trying to tweet about certain players and how they fit or don’t fit on that team, another bunch of players would crop up. I barely had time to process it and then they never even bothered to say that was the end of Round 2. Or that the final round had started. I can’t even imagine what it was like for the players. They were robbed of their moment and the draft was swiftly finished at 8:45 pm. Not even 9 pm. We barely got acknowledgement of some of the second and third round picks. I should note, that some of the third round picks fell and can probably make a WNBA roster.

Overall, it was a mess. A hot mess. I’m so tired of women’s basketball and this is professional women’s basketball being treated like this. ESPN could have given the draft another hour. They should have slowed down their picks. Talked about a few of the second round and third round picks. They should have interviewed some more players. This was the perfect opportunity to bring in more WNBA fans as the sports world has essentially shut down and more eyes were on this draft than ever before. But, nope. That did not happen. ESPN let the WNBA down. They did them a disservice. I was severely disappointed and I know that I am not the only one.

I would say, I hope for a better WNBA Draft next year, but I think that’s hoping for too much. I think they will deliver a great first round but let us down again for the second and third rounds. Maybe one day, we will have a dedicated women’s sports channel that will get it right and deliver us the stories all of us want. Maybe one day

Women’s College Basketball Final Overall Player Rankings for 2019/2020 – Class by Class!

Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

After 17 weeks of my weekly women’s college basketball players rankings, it is time to unveil the FINAL OVERALL Women’s College Basketball Players Rankings for the 2019/2020 season. From November to March, there have been some incredible moments and performances from seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen across the nation.

For 17 weeks, I took the best of the best women’s college basketball players and put them on my weekly lists. I looked at over 50+ schools this season because of the parity and the wide variety of upsets happening every week and the amount of upsets had usurped previous years which also required me to do an extra week of the weekly women’s college basketball rankings. I had never done that before as 16 weeks was often enough. I also tried my best to make the ratings fair and include a wide variety of big and small conferences. These rankings can take quite a bit of time to put together because they require a ton of time and attention.

I have been compiling these rankings for four years now and if you would like to check out last year’s edition, you may do so here. If you would like to check out the 2017/2018 edition, you can view it here. If you would like to view the 2016/2017 edition, you can view it here. If you have questions or this is your first time viewing the rankings, please read the FAQ page first.

Listed below are the top seniors, the top juniors, the top sophomores and the top freshmen for 2019/2020.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  5. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  6. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  7. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  8. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  9. Kiah Gillespie – Florida State
  10. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  11. Crystal Dangerfield – Connecticut
  12. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  13. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  14. Nicki Ekhomu – Florida State
  15. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  16. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  17. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  18. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  19. Brittany Brewer – Texas Tech
  20. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  21. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  22. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  23. Haley Gorecki – Duke
  24. Jaylyn Agnew – Creighton
  25. Becca Hittner – Drake
  26. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  27. Kianna Ray – TCU
  28. Sara Rhine – Drake
  29. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  30. Taryn McCutcheon – Michigan State
  31. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  32. Stella Johnson – Rider
  33. Kristen Spolyar – Butler
  34. Alexa Willard – Missouri State
  35. Amber Melgoza – Washington
  36. Alana Gilmer – Marist

*Just missed: Jaelyn Brown (California), Emma Guy (Boston College), Juicy Landrum (Baylor), Dominique Oden (Purdue), Jocelyn Willoughby (Virginia)

*Honourable mention: Taiye Bello (Minnesota), Katie Campbell (Gonzaga), Fallyn Freije (Montana State), Rebekah Hand (Marist), A’erianna Harris (Purdue), Aislinn Konig (NC State), Francesca Pan (Georgia Tech), Reili Richardson (Arizona State), Jayla Scaife (Dayton), Abi Scheid (Northwestern), Rachel Thompson (Colgate), Peyton Williams (Kansas State), Nausia Woolfolk (Florida State)

JUNIORS

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  3. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  4. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  5. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  6. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  7. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  8. Chelsea Dungee – Arkansas
  9. Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  10. Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  11. Vivian Gray – Oklahoma State
  12. Dana Evans – Louisville
  13. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  14. Lauren Heard – TCU
  15. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  16. Arella Guirantes – Rutgers
  17. N’dea Jones – Texas A&M
  18. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  19. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  20. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  21. Kayla Jones – NC State
  22. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  23. Selena Lott – Marquette
  24. Micaela Kelly – Central Michigan
  25. Maddi Utti – Fresno State
  26. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  27. Brice Calip – Missouri State

*Honourable mention: Erin Boley (Oregon), Lorela Cubaj (Georgia Tech), Ciera Johnson (Texas A&M), Kiara Lewis (Syracuse), Victoria Morris (Old Dominion), Nancy Mulkey (Rice), Chelsea Perry (UT Martin), Jaelynn Penn (Indiana), Destiny Pitts (Minnesota), Amaya Scott (Bethune-Cookman), Hannah Sjerven (South Dakota), Macee Williams (IUPUI)

SOPHOMORES

  1. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  2. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  3. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  4. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  5. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  6. Olivia Nelson – Ododa – Connecticut
  7. Charli Collier – Texas
  8. Lexi Hull – Stanford
  9. Ashley Joens – Iowa State
  10. Cate Reese – Arizona
  11. Naz Hillmon – Michigan
  12. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  13. Jasmine Franklin – Missouri State
  14. Lexi Held – DePaul
  15. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  16. Queen Egbo – Baylor
  17. Grace Berger – Indiana
  18. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland

*Just missed: Erica Johnson (Ohio), Sonya Morris (DePaul)

*Honourable mention: Elizabeth Balogun (Louisville), Dorka Juhasz (Ohio State), Ajah Wayne (Old Dominion)

FRESHMEN

  1. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  2. Haley Jones – Stanford
  3. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  4. Rickea Jackson – Missisippi State
  5. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  6. Ashley Owusu – Maryland
  7. Alissa Pili – Southern California
  8. Jakia Brown – Turner – NC State
  9. Aliyah Matharu – Missisippi State

*Honourable mention: Kierstan Bell (Ohio State), Jordan Horston (Tennessee), Ashten Prechtel (Stanford)

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 17

Celeste Taylor , texas
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

*NOTE – These final weekly rankings update was for the final week of regular women’s college basketball season and before the conference tournaments started. I am just posting now because of emergency situation with my family. The final overall one will come out a later date. *

This is it. This is the final weekly rankings update for this women’s college basketball season. I will unveil the FINAL OVERALL rankings for 2019/2020 next week, so make sure you are subscribed so you can be one of the first ones to receive the rankings.

In what is now my fourth year compiling these rankings, I have never gone further than Week 16. I have never needed to. I, usually had a solid idea of who was going to make the final cut for each class and this week would have been the final overall rankings. However, there were so many upsets to ranked teams this season, so many top teams falling to non ranked teams and so much balance this year that a lot more players ended up making the list. Not only that, several top players would be on the list and then they would immediately fall off due to upsets or their team was not playing up to their standard.

There were some more upsets this week to ranked teams and so, a bit of shuffling was required for this final week. If your favourite player has been playing well and is not on this week, rest assured they have made it in previous weeks and they may be in the FINAL OVERALL rankings released next week. As always, thanks for the support and please continue to visit my blog and tell others to do so. Thank you!

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of February 24th to March 1st. If this is your first time viewing these rankings or have questions, please read the FAQ page first. Click here to view last week’s rankings.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Jaylyn Agnew – Creighton
  5. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  6. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  7. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  8. Te’a Cooper – Baylor
  9. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  10. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  11. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  12. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  13. Joyner Holmes – Texas
  14. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  15. Haley Gorecki – Duke
  16. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  17. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  18. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  19. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  20. Becca Hittner – Drake
  21. Abi Scheid – Northwestern
  22. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  23. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  24. Jaelyn Brown – California
  25. Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
  26. Alexis Lewis – Seton Hall
  27. Alana Gilmer – Marist
  28. Cierra Johnson – Alabama
  29. Ja’Tavia Tapley – Arizona State
  30. Alissa Alston – St. John’s
  31. Taylor Frederick – South Dakota
  32. Jayla Scaife – Dayton
  33. TeTe Maggett – Illinois State
  34. Ivy Wallen – North Alabama
  35. Michal Miller – Wright State
  36. Madeline Smith – Montana State

JUNIORS

  1. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  2. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  3. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  4. Aarion McDonald – Arizona
  5. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  6. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  7. Selena Lott – Marquette
  8. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  9. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  10. Kayla Jones – NC State
  11. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  12. Lexi Gordon – Texas Tech
  13. Lauren Van Kleunen – Marquette
  14. Arella Guirantes – Rutgers
  15. Mariella Fasoula – Vanderbilt
  16. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  17. DiDi Richards – Baylor
  18. Awa Trasi – LSU
  19. Oshlynn Brown – Ball State
  20. Maddie Waldrop – UT Martin
  21. Abby Kapp – Bucknell
  22. Victoria Morris – Old Dominion
  23. Dayzsha Rogan – Jackson State
  24. Amaya Scott – Bethune – Cookman
  25. Anna McLeod – Abilene Christian
  26. Natalie Armstrong – Samford
  27. Mallory McGwire – Boise State

SOPHOMORES

  1. Lexi Hull – Stanford
  2. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  3. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  4. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  5. Grace Berger – Indiana
  6. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  7. Charli Collier – Texas
  8. Nia Clouden – Michigan State
  9. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech
  10. Laren Vanarsdale – Hampton
  11. Hannah Pratt – Columbia
  12. Lindsey Thall – Kent State
  13. Kate Mager – Merrimack
  14. Jamilyn Kinney – Belmont
  15. Aja Blount – Coastal Carolina
  16. Jasmine Smith – Rice
  17. Emily Ivory – UMKC
  18. Queen Egbo – Baylor

FRESHMEN

  1. Celeste Taylor – Texas
  2. Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame
  3. Alissa Pili – USC
  4. Aliyah Matharu – Mississippi State
  5. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  6. Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
  7. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  8. Anne Simon – Maine
  9. Ellie Mitchell – Princeton

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

lindsey pulliam, northwestern
~ Aneela Khan ~ 5 Comments

As we end the women’s college basketball regular season comes to a close, more and more upsets occur every week which makes the rankings so hard to make and update for myself as players come in and then are out the next week, etc but as I have stated before in previous rankings post, it sure is fun to watch.

As my rankings are winding down, normally next week would be the final overall rankings post. HOWEVER, because of the nature of upsets this season from many teams, one more week is definitely needed to sort out all of the player rankings, so the FINAL OVERALL Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings will be out Monday, March 9th. Make sure you follow my blog so you can receive the rankings first via email.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors (four players tied!), top 27 juniors, top 18 sophomores and top 11 freshmen (four players were tied!) for the week of February 17th to February 23rd. If you are new to these rankings OR have questions, please read the FAQ page first. If you would like to view last week’s rankings, you may do so here.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  3. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  4. Amber Melgoza – Washington
  5. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  6. Cameron Onken – Villanova
  7. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  8. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  9. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  10. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  11. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  12. Mary Gedaka – Villanova
  13. Brittany Brewer – Texas Tech
  14. Kianna Ray – TCU
  15. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  16. Nicki Ekhomu – Florida State
  17. Reili Richardson – Arizona State
  18. Leaonna Odom – Duke
  19. Alexa Willard – Missouri State
  20. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  21. Kathleen Doyle – Iowa
  22. Haley Gorecki – Duke
  23. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  24. Kristen Spolyar – Butler
  25. Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
  26. Emma Guy – Boston College
  27. Sara Rhine – Drake & Erica Ogwumike – Rice
  28. Taryn McCutcheon – Michigan State
  29. Juicy Landrum – Baylor
  30. Keri Jewett – Giles – FGCU
  31. Ellie Harmeyer – Belmont
  32. Fallyn Freije – Montana State
  33. DJ Williams – Coastal Carolina
  34. Bailey Greenberg – Drexel
  35. Rebekah Hand – Marist
  36. Stella Johnson – Rider & Ericka Mattingly – UMKC

JUNIORS

  1. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  2. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  3. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  4. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  5. Megan Walker – Connecticut
  6. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  7. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  8. Jasmine Walker – Alabama
  9. Lorela Cubaj – Georgia Tech
  10. Amber Ramirez – Arkansas
  11. Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  12. Jenna Staiti – Georgia
  13. Selena Lott – Marquette
  14. Lauren Heard – TCU
  15. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  16. Arella Guirantes – Rutgers
  17. Erin Boley – Oregon
  18. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  19. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  20. Chloe Lamb – South Dakota
  21. Micaela Kelly – Central Michigan
  22. Chelsey Perry – UT Martin
  23. Abby Kapp – Bucknell
  24. Daniella Hatcher – Bethune – Cookman
  25. Aja Boyd – UNC Greensboro
  26. Maeve Carroll – Maine
  27. Brice Calip – Missouri State

SOPHOMORES

  1. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  2. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  3. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  4. Naz Hillmon – Michigan
  5. Ashley Joens – Iowa State
  6. Veronica Burton – Northwestern
  7. Andrea Torres – Utah
  8. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  9. Olivia Nelson – Ododa – Connecticut
  10. Jasmine Franklin – Missouri State
  11. Taylor Soule – Boston College
  12. Charli Collier – Texas
  13. Grace Berger – Indiana
  14. Dorka Juhasz – Ohio State
  15. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
  16. Angel Baker – Wright State
  17. Amber Leggett – Sam Houston State
  18. Luana Serranho – Campbell

FRESHMEN

  1. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  2. Ayoka Lee – Kansas State
  3. Jaylyn Sherrod – Colorado
  4. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  5. Taylor Jones – Oregon State & Jakia Brown- Turner – NC State
  6. Lavender Briggs – Florida
  7. Sam Brunelle – Notre Dame
  8. Alissa Pili – USC
  9. Anna Makurat – Connecticut and Leilani Correa – St. John’s

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 15

DJ Williams, coastal carolina
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

This week was filled with some more upsets of top ranked teams, teams finally winning against ranked opponents and teams winning in the final minutes of the game. It definitely continues the theme of this women’s college basketball season which can be summed up in one word: unpredictable. We only have a few weeks left in conference play, which should make the following weeks even more interesting.

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. 10th to Feb. 16th. If you are a first time reader or have questions, please read the FAQ page first. Click here to view last week’s rankings list.

SENIORS

  1. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  2. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  3. Tyasha Harris – South Carolina
  4. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  5. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  6. Kylee Shook – Louisville
  7. Leaonna Odom – Duke
  8. Hayley Gorecki – Duke
  9. Francesca Pan – Georgia Tech
  10. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  11. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  12. Reili Richardson – Arizona State
  13. Ae’Rianna Harris – Purdue
  14. Crystal Dangerfield – UConn
  15. DJ Williams – Coastal Carolina
  16. Jocelyn Willoughby – Virginia
  17. Peyton Williams – Kansas State
  18. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  19. Alexis Tolefree – Arkansas
  20. Isabelle Spingola – Marquette
  21. Mary Gedaka – Villanova
  22. Abi Scheid – Northwestern
  23. Keri Jewett – Giles – FGCU
  24. Alana Gilmer – Marist
  25. Taylor Edwards – Old Dominion
  26. Kamiah Smalls – James Madison
  27. Kaela Hilaire – Stony Brook
  28. Kay Kay Wright – UCF
  29. Bailey Greenberg – Drexel
  30. Chelsea Brackmann – Bradley
  31. Sydney Nunley – Radford
  32. Kendall Grasela – Pennsylvania
  33. Fallyn Freije – Montana State
  34. Ellie Mack – Bucknell
  35. Nadine Soliman – UNC Greensboro
  36. Nneka Ezeigbo – Robert Morris

JUNIORS

  1. Chennedy Carter- Texas A&M
  2. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  3. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  4. Dana Evans – Louisville
  5. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  6. Kiara Lewis – Syracuse
  7. Megan Walker – UConn
  8. N’dea Jones – Texas A&M
  9. Khayla Pointer – LSU
  10. Jenna Staiti – Georgia
  11. Sam Thomas – Arizona
  12. Mya Hollingshed – Colorado
  13. Chloe Lamb – South Dakota
  14. DiDi Richards – Baylor
  15. Micaela Kelly – Central Michigan
  16. Carlie Littlefield – Princeton
  17. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  18. Raneem Elgedawy – Western Kentucky
  19. Chasity Patterson – Kentucky
  20. Cierra Hall – UC Davis
  21. Tesia Thompson – Southeast Missouri State
  22. Amaya Scott – Bethune Cookman
  23. Araion Bradshaw – Dayton
  24. Ameshya Williams – Jackson State
  25. Myah Pace – San Diego
  26. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  27. Maddi Utti – Fresno State

SOPHOMORES

  1. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  2. Taylor Soule – Boston College
  3. Sonya Morris – DePaul
  4. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  5. Olivia Nelson – Ododa – UConn
  6. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  7. Queen Egbo – Baylor
  8. Veronica Burton – Northwestern
  9. Jasmine Franklin – Missouri State
  10. Kari Niblack – West Virginia
  11. Erica Johnson – Ohio
  12. Ally Niece – Northern Kentucky
  13. Aiyana Johnson – Stephen F. Austin
  14. Ajah Wayne – Old Dominion
  15. Lexi Held – DePaul
  16. Lexi Hull – Stanford
  17. Monika Czinano – Iowa
  18. Emily Engstler – Syracuse

FRESHMEN

  1. Madison Greene – Ohio State
  2. Ashley Owusu – Maryland
  3. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  4. Lavender Briggs – Florida
  5. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  6. Alissa Pili – USC
  7. Elizabeth Kitley – Virginia Tech
  8. Hanna Cavinder – Fresno State
  9. Jada Holland – Grand Canyon