The Guru NCAAW Report II: Close to Making History Princeton Becomes History on Night of More Upsets With Narrow Outcomes

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Soon after Michigan’s game ended here Monday following the Wolverine’s triumph over Villanova, the hometeam coach offered her opinion why the number of upsets and close games in the early rounds in increased numbers.

“First and foremost, I think it’s unbelievable for women’s basketball to have this kind of play at this point in the year,” Michigan’s Kim Barnes Arico said. “… It’s a lot of teams have a lot of experience returning. And that’s why there are so many of these upsets because the COVID year and a lot of people have people coming back.

“I know the team that we play next has three fifths or six year kids. They have a lot of experience, and I think that is causing some of these upsets for sure,” she continued. “But it’s tremendous for women’s basketball. I think so much fun.

“Every game you’re sitting on the edge of your seat, and I think it’s just great our game is continuing to grow and it’s unbelievable,” Barnes Arico said. “For us, I think experience and we talk about it in so many ways but being there before certainly helps. And us being in this game before last year and then us having an opportunity to play in the Sweet 16 on another game that came down to the wire definitely helps.

“So with you know, our senior class, obviously led by Naz Hillmon and Leigha (Brown) coming back, I think we’ll have a little bit of confidence. But we also know that we cannot look past anyone or take anyone for granted. The team we’re going to play (South Dakota) is an unbelievable team. They showed that last night in the way they were able to defend Baylor. So it should be an exciting game, but experience always helps. Experience is the best teacher. We talk about it all the time.”

And after trailing Monday night early at Michigan’s Big Ten sister school Indiana, there were the Ivy League champs, though not playing last year when the school presidents shut down the season, but having won a couple of games in the past, joined by just the famed 16-1 Harvard upset of Stanford, the only multiple NCAA winner in an Ivy program rallying from 12 down late in the third in Assembly Hall to move within three points at the end of the third.

On to the fourth, Ellie Mitchell puts the Tigers in front 50-49 nearing the five minute mark, that close becoming the first Ivy school to move to the Sweet 16.

But then the Hoosiers got it back on a Nicole Cardano-Hilary on a layup.

Then both teams missing shots, grabbing rebounds, turnovers, but still one point, 2:07 left in regulation, the Hoosiers turn it over but Kaitlyn Chen misses a jumper, Julia Cunningham gets the offensive rebound but Abby Myers misses a three-point shot, Chen, though, with another rebound.

Myers ties it and gives Princeton the lead with a pair of free throws 52-51, 1:12 left in regulation. Then Grace Berger to the line, nooo good, Berger ties it on the line 52-52 58 seconds.

Myers goes for downtown but it misses and Mackenzie Holmes with the rebound and Grace Berger the lead for the home team with 49 seconds 54-52.

Chen turns it over five seconds and a steal by Ali Patberg resulting then on some fouls to maintain control,

Now 56-52 and Myers a three but time expires and Indiana wins 56-55.

The 11-3 upset doesn’t happen here but oh so close.

The final reflects the defensive nature of the game, Chen with 10 for Princeton (25-5), Cunningham with 13, also Stone, and Myers with 11.

Indiana (24-8) has multi digit scorers, those would be Berger with 15, Cardano-Hillary collecting 12, Holmes with 10 points .

For the three-seed Hoosiers, it’s on to the Bridgeport Regional in Connecticut, playing the fifth-ranked Huskies in the Webster Bank Arena, Saturday, 2 p.m. on ESPN.

UConn Survives UIC

UConn (27-5), a second seed, gets there, edging seventh seed IUC (26-4), the American Athletic Conference winner, 52-47, the league the Huskies was perfect besides the others.

For the reps from the conference of which Temple is a winner, Diamond Battles with 12 points, Tay Sanders with 10, and reserve Brittney Smith with 11.

The Huskies get 16 from freshman Azzi Fudd and 12 from Christyn Williams.

Like a reunion of past programs once in the same league, also in Bridgeport this weekend will be fifth seeded Notre Dame at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN playing its Atlantic Coast Conference leader, the region top seed, NC State.

The Irish (24-8) advanced crushing Oklahoma, the fourth seed, 108-64, in Norman, Monday, as Dara Mabrey scored 29, Sophia Citron scored 25, Maya Dodson scored 20, Maddy Westbeld scored 13, and Olivia Miles had 9 points and 12 rebounds against the Sooners (25-9).

Taylor Robertson scored 19 for Oklahoma.

NC State (31-3) easily got to Saturday’s game with Notre Dame on Monday afternoon knocking out Kansas State (20-13), the ninth seed, as Kayla Jones scored 18, Raina Perez scored 15 as did reserve Diamond Johnson.

Ayoka  Lee  was held to 12 points, though the leader was Serena Sundell scoring 17.

North Carolina Upsets Arizona

A year after fourth seed Arizona advanced all the way to the last shot of the National Championship, losing to Pac-12 rival Stanford in San Antonio, Texas, the Wildcats (21-8) in their own building, were taken down by fifth seed North Carolina 63-45 as Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 19, Deja Kelly scored 15, and Alyssa Ustby had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-6).

Coach Courtney Banghart’s squad on Friday will face top-ranked and overall No. 1 seed South Carolina in the Greensboro Regional in North Carolina.

Arizona (21-8) saw its season end, getting just 15 points from Sam Thomas and 15 from Bendu Yeaney.

More Upsets

In the Spokane Regional that sent Maryland and Stanford against each other Friday night at 9:30 p.m., another upset Monday saw sixth-seed Ohio State win at third-seed LSU 79-64, ending the magical turnaround season by first-year coach Kim Mulkey, whose former Baylor squad was taken out on Sunday by upsetr

The Buckeyes (25-6) got 23 points from Jacy Sheldon, while Taylor Mikesell, a transfer formerly with Maryland, scored 18, and Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 12.

The win ruined the day from Khayla Pointer on the Tigers (26-6), who scored 32 points, while Jailin Cherry scored 12.

Ohio State in Spokane on Friday will face second seed Texas, a 78-56 winner Sunday over seventh seed Utah.

The other game in Greensboro this weekend is No. 3 Iowa State, which handled Georgia 67-44, meeting 10th seed Creighton, which on Sunday stayed alive knocking out Iowa 64-62.

Back to restored prominence, in Wichita, on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, is fourth-seeded Tennessee (25-8), which on Monday narrowly put away state-rival and Ohio Valley champion Belmont 70-67 at home in Knoxville.

The Lady Vols got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Alexus Dye, while Tamari Key scored 18. Belmont (23-8) got 22 points from Destinee Wells,, whilre Tuti Jones scored 17.

Tennessee on Saturday in the Wichita Regional at 4  p.m., will face Louisville, the top seed, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.