Senior Watch: Championship Stretch
Since our last Senior Watch, the NCAA Tournament field has been whittled down from 16 to four, with UConn, Oregon State, Syracuse and Washington heading to Indianapolis for the national semifinal games on Sunday.
Let’s start our look at the top WNBA prospects with the teams still vying for the national championship, then we’ll take a final look at the prospects who played their final collegiate games this past week.
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 2 Oregon State
UConn – No. 1 Seed, Bridgeport Region
Breanna Stewart
What more can we say about Breanna Stewart at this point?
There’s the dominant stats on a nightly basis:
– 22p-14r-5b-3a-1s in a 60-point win over Mississippi State in the Sweet 16
– 21p-13r-3b-5a-3s in a 21-point win over Texas to send UConn to its ninth straight Final Four
There’s the elite company she is in when it comes to career achievements in the college game.
Breanna Stewart enters the #FinalFour with 406 career points in the NCAA Tournament, 5th-most all time (Holdsclaw, Moore, Ogwumike, Taurasi)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 29, 2016
Perhaps the best thing to say about Stewart in a Senior Watch column is to do that exactly that: Watch this senior play the final two games of her brilliant college career and get ready to watch plenty more of her in the WNBA for years to come.
And until UConn tips off its Final Four matchup with Oregon State on Sunday, get to know more about Stewart thanks to this fantastic feature by Elizabeth Merrill.
Breanna Stewart is on the brink of history: https://t.co/i9SAo8bN5n pic.twitter.com/BqcYHFtU2W
— espnW (@espnW) March 29, 2016
Moriah Jefferson
Jefferson had just seven points and four assists in 23 minutes during UConn’s record-breaking rout of Mississippi State in the Round of 16. The Huskies did not need much offense from Jefferson in a 60-point win to get to the Elite Eight, although she did provide a buzzer-beating highlight.
FACT: UConn allowed just 4 pts in the 1st quarter.
But that didn't stop Moriah Jefferson from beating the buzzer: https://t.co/UNXTpCLtKi— ESPN (@espn) March 26, 2016
But against Texas with a spot in Indianapolis on the line, Jefferson played 38 minutes and scored 11 points while dishing out nine assists to help the Huskies to an 86-65 win.
Moriah Jefferson's leadership on both ends of the court was key for @UConnWBB in Monday's win, Katie Barnes writes. https://t.co/AtIyJgQLiY
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 29, 2016
Oregon State – No. 2 Seed, Dallas Region
Jamie Weisner
Oregon State is set to face a UConn team that has made nine straight Final Fours and won three straight national titles. Last weekend, Jamie Weisner sent the Beavers to their first-ever Elite Eight with an incredible 38-point performance against DePaul.
The 38 points were a career high, as were the seven 3-pointers she hit in just 10 attempts. After missing her first three shots, Weisner went 14-of-17 the rest of the way and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Highlights from Jamie Weisner's 38-point performance and a 83-71 @OregonStateWBB win: https://t.co/uUSmKl1ROD
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 27, 2016
But getting to the Elite Eight for the first time wasn’t enough; the Beavers then knocked out Baylor on Monday to move on. Weisner had 16 points and eight rebounds against Baylor just hours after being named AP Second Team All-America. Not a bad day.
Great start to a BIG day: Jamie Weisner has been named AP 2nd Team All-America. Hamblin & Wiese are Honorable Ment. pic.twitter.com/AWXOzsVeWe
— Oregon State WBB (@BeaverWBB) March 28, 2016
Ruth Hamblin
Hamblin was just one rebound shy of posting a double-double in Oregon State’s matchup with DePaul. She finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in just 24 minutes on the floor.
Jamie Weisner scores 38 points as @OregonStateWBB reaches its first Elite Eight. Ruth Hamblin also becomes program's career rebounds leader.
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 27, 2016
After getting an Honorable Mention on the AP All-America team, Hamblin had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in Oregon State’s win over Baylor to send the team to its first Final Four.
Current mood: pic.twitter.com/V3yzPEaJTG
— ruth davis (hamblin) (@ruthhdavis) March 29, 2016
Final Four: No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 7 Washington
While the second Final Four matchup does not boast as many top prospects as UConn-Oregon State, here are a pair of seniors to keep an eye on during the matchup.
Syracuse – No. 4 Seed, Sioux Falls Region
Brianna Butler
Brianna Butler – the NCAA active leader in three-pointers made – had been cold from beyond the arc heading into Syracuse’s matchup with top-seeded South Carolina. Butler had made just six of her last 35 three-point attempts entering the game and went 0-of-4 from three in the first half against the Gamecocks.
The second half was a different story. She knocked down 2-of-3 longballs in both the third and fourth quarters. She scored 10 of her 18 points in the final period to lift the Orange to the Elite Eight.
Against Tennessee, Butler was not shy with the 3-point shot, hoisting 15 attempts and knocking down six – including three straight early in the fourth quarter to break the game open as Syracuse ended up winning by 22 points.
That’s 10 3-pointers in her last two games for Butler, who ranks 12th in NCAA Division I history in career 3-pointers made with 368.
Brianna Butler has six 3-pointers for @CuseWBB — including this one: https://t.co/uezZw0Nosj … Syracuse has 14 treys total.
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) March 27, 2016
This was the third time this season that Butler had knocked down at least six threes in a game. The All-ACC Second Team selection averages
13.6 points and 3.44 3-pointers per game for Syracuse, a school that is sending two teams to national semifinals this year.
Syracuse: 12th program to send men's and women's teams to the Final Four in the same season. Last to do so: UConn in 2014 (won both titles)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 28, 2016
Washington – No. 7 Seed, Lexington Region
Talia Walton
There’s no better way to raise your draft stock than by having an outstanding run in the NCAA Tournament in front of a national audience. Washington’s Talia Walton has taken full advantage of this opportunity during Washington’s unlikely Final Four run.
After opening the NCAA Tournament with win over Penn, the No. 7-seeded Huskies then knocked off No. 2 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Kentucky and No. 4 seed Stanford to advance to the Final Four for the first time.
During this run, Walton has played every minute of every game and averaged 20 points a game. But it was her 30-point performance against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 that really forced people to take notice.
Talia Walton scores 30 to help Washington secure its first #Elite8 berth since 2001.
Recap: https://t.co/FBYH9UWtUM pic.twitter.com/XTuf4yOUVW
— Washington Women’s Basketball (@UW_WBB) March 26, 2016
Even some WNBA players took notice. Like Indiana’s Briann January, who made sure to tag Fever President and GM Kelly Krauskopf on her tweet touting Walton as a potential top 10 pick.
https://twitter.com/BriannJanuary/status/713528631591510016
The 6-2 forward is Washington’s top 3-point shooter with 78 made threes on the season and nine through the first four games of the tournament. What will she have in store for Syracuse in the Final Four on Sunday.
Watched all 78 Talia Walton 3ptm @SynergySST @coachneighbors. @Kelsey_plum10 assisted 56%, Osahor 20%. 50% 3ptm drive kick, 23% transition
— Debbie Antonelli (@debbieantonelli) March 27, 2016
More Prospects
With only four teams left in the field, the college careers of many top WNBA prospects came to a close over the past week.
Madison Cable (Notre Dame): Cable had an off shooting night in the final game of her collegiate career, going 4-of-13 from the field to finish with 12 points and six boards in Notre Dame’s Sweet 16 loss to Stanford. On Monday, Cable was named an AP All-America Honorable Mention.
Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina): Mitchell, an AP Second Team All-American, had just eight points and five assists in South Carolina’s Sweet 16 loss to Syracuse. She shot just 3-of-11 from the field and 1-of-8 from 3-point range in her final college game.
Niya Johnson (Baylor): After racking up 26 assists in Baylor’s first two NCAA Tournament games, Johnson picked up another eight dimes to go with eight points, four boards and three steals in Baylor’s Sweet 16 win over Florida State. However, Johnson had just one assist to go with six points and seven boards in Baylor’s Eight Eight loss to Oregon State.
Imani Boyette (Texas): Boyette’s 18-point, 10-rebound double-double lifted the Longhorns past UCLA in the Sweet 16, but she struggled against top-seeded UConn in the Elite Eight, finishing with just four points, six rebounds and six turnovers.
Megan Podkowa (DePaul): After a quiet game in DePaul’s upset of Louisville to advance to the Sweet 16, Podkowa struggled in DePaul’s loss to Oregon State as she finished with 0 points on 0-of-4 shooting. She did contribute six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block, but it was not enough against Jamie Weisner and the Beavers.
Adut Bulgak (Florida State): Bulgak had five points and six rebounds before fouling out in just 21 minutes of play during FSU’s loss to Baylor in the Sweet 16.