The NCAA women’s basketball tournament tips off this week, and it will feature one of the deepest talent pools in recent years. To help whet your March Madness appetite before the games begin, here is a breakdown of five players you won’t want to miss.
Before getting to the list of individual stars, South Carolina deserves an honorable mention. The Gamecocks are No. 2 in the latest NET rankings, yet none of their players are highlighted below. It’s a function of South Carolina’s balance, with 10 players contributing meaningful minutes. So watch the Gamecocks, too. A group of players who so perfectly embody the word “team” is a sight to behold.
JuJu Watkins’s dynamic play and uncanny ability to perform in marquee matchups are why she has become such an attraction in Los Angeles.
The sophomore guard’s versatility makes her a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. Watkins expertly uses her 6-foot-2 frame to post up smaller defenders. She employs her shooting range and quickness to generate opportunities against post players. Watkins has shouldered less of the offensive load this season with the addition of transfers Kiki Iriafen (Stanford) and Talia von Oelhoffen (Oregon State). That has just made her a more efficient scorer.
The result is 1,684 career points for Watkins, which put her 78 behind former Ohio State star Kelsey Mitchell for the most by a Division I player in her first two seasons. Few teams have figured out the formula for stopping or even marginally slowing down the Big Ten player of the year.
Just ask crosstown rival UCLA. Watkins averaged more than 32 points in their three matchups. Watkins’s performance Feb. 13 against the then-unbeaten Bruins showcased her ability to make an impact on both ends of the court — her eight blocks were the most by a guard against an Associated Press-ranked opponent in more than 20 years.
When the lights have been bright, Watkins has risen to the occasion time and again. Don’t expect that to change this month.
If you are a fan of exceptional shotmaking and efficiency, Paige Bueckers is the player for you.
The three-time Big East player of the year is the most efficient player in women’s college basketball. That sounds like a bold proclamation, but it’s apparent after a quick breakdown of the numbers. Only three players in the past 15 seasons have shot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 90 percent from the free throw line over a full season. Bueckers is close to joining that exclusive club. The Connecticut guard also leads the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.90.
Critics may claim Bueckers’s gaudy statistics are the result of playing in a conference with only one other team ranked in the Associated Press poll. And while her shooting numbers have dipped against top-tier competition this season, she has still performed at an elite level in such games. In Quadrant 1 games, Bueckers is averaging over 20 points on 45 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent from three and better than 80 percent from the free throw line — a combination of stats matched by only four Division I players this season.
The one accomplishment missing from Bueckers’s collegiate career is a national championship. A healthy Connecticut roster coupled with a few signature Bueckers performances could rectify that next month.
Sometimes players experience a sophomore slump, a decline in performance after a particularly strong freshman season. Hannah Hidalgo did not get the memo.
After playing point guard for Notre Dame last season, Hidalgo moved over to shooting guard after the return from injury of star point guard Olivia Miles. Hidalgo has flourished in her new role, following one of the best freshman seasons in recent years with a sophomore campaign that has been as impressive.
Arguably the best two-way guard in the country, Hidalgo ranks among the nation’s top five in points per game (24.2) and steals per game (3.7). She is the engine behind a high-flying Fighting Irish offense that leads the nation with 19.4 fast-break points per game. The most notable improvement in Hidalgo’s game has been her shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, where she is shooting 41 percent on five attempts per game (up from 34 percent and 4.2 attempts per game last season).
The Fighting Irish have lost three of their past five games, causing many to doubt their national championship prospects. However, Hidalgo and company are more than capable of righting the ship and bringing home Notre Dame’s first title since the days of Arike Ogunbowale in 2018.
Lauren Betts has taken over former Stanford teammate Cameron Brink’s mantle as the best center in women’s college basketball. The 6-7 junior’s dominance on both ends of the court propelled UCLA to a Big Ten championship and the program’s first 30-win season.
The Bruins allowed opponents to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 39.8, putting them on pace to be the first Big Ten program in over a decade to hold opponents under 40 percent over a full season. Betts, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, played the most critical role in her team’s defensive success. She led the conference and ranks fifth in the country with 2.9 blocks per game. Even more important, her expert rim protection hasn’t come at the expense of foul trouble.
Few opponents can muster an effective defense when she gets the ball deep in the post. It’s little wonder Betts is shooting 63 percent from the field, seventh in Division I. Even when she doesn’t convert down low, her 4.1 offensive rebounds per game generate additional opportunities for her and her teammates.
Whether UCLA can capture its first NCAA championship hinges on Betts continuing her dominant play.
If you’re nostalgic for a bygone era when midrange shots were valued and three-point shots weren’t all the rage, look no further than Texas sophomore Madison Booker.
The SEC player of the year and last season’s Big 12 co-player of the year, Booker took more than half of her field goal attempts from midrange. That might give members of the basketball analytics community nightmares. But it has been effective for Booker, whose 16.2 points per game helped Texas earn a conference regular season co-championship during its inaugural season in the SEC.
To be sure, Booker is perfectly capable of knocking down shots from beyond the arc. She is shooting 43.9 percent from deep, which ranks in the top 3 percent among players with at least 50 attempts.
Can Booker and the Longhorns return to the top of the women’s basketball mountain for the first time in nearly 40 years? We will soon find out.
Adam Vachon is a contributing writer for herhoopstats.com.
