Women’s Basketball Games of the Week 12/19 – 12/22
Three separate tournaments, same location. Las Vegas is the women’s basketball capital of the world for the next few days anyway, as the Basketball Travelers Invitational, the Duel in the Desert, and the Holiday Hoops Classic are being played at separate locations throughout the city. Otherwise, a big matchup between two top programs (Tennessee-Stanford) highlights the early-week agenda.
OKLAHOMA VS. SYRACUSE (5:30 p.m. Monday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada)
The first of two Monday games to be played in the city of glitz and glamour pits a Big 12 and Big East squad against each other. Oklahoma (5-3) has a two-game winning streak against Milwaukee and Ohio following three losses in a row to Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Fresno State. Keep an eye on freshman Sharane Campbell, because she could explode in future games following a 19-point outburst off the bench in an 89-57 win over Ohio. Three players finished in double figures for the Sooners. Syracuse (8-3) has played more games than Oklahoma and also has a two-game win streak (Coppin State, Xavier) following three losses in a row (Arizona, Brigham Young, West Virginia). Syracuse barely got by Xavier but Carmen Tyson-Thomas’ 18 points and 10 rebounds led the way to a 70-67 victory.
No. 25 GONZAGA VS. No. 6 GEORGIA (6:30 p.m. Monday at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada)
Two eight-win teams face off in one of the top tournaments of the Christmas week. The Gonzaga women (8-2) have had no luck against West Coast teams, with losses to Stanford and USC, but the Bulldogs have three straight wins against Eastern Washington, Montana and UC-Riverside. In the last game against Riverside, an 83-56 win, Haiden Palmer scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds. Georgia (8-1) rides a four-game winning streak into this contest following a 64-56 loss to Georgetown. The Lady Bulldogs have beaten Northeastern, South Carolina State, Georgia Tech and Mercer, the latter game against Mercer turning into an 80-43 pasting. Jasmine Hassell scored 16 points as Georgia outscored Mercer 52-6 in the paint. One thing is certain: a team nicknamed Bulldogs will win this game.
KANSAS STATE VS. NORTHWESTERN (10:30 p.m. Monday at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada)
The third game of the Las Vegas trifecta pits Big 12 against Big Ten with two tough teams facing off. Kansas State (7-2) is coming off a 70-47 win over North Dakota State that stretched its winning streak to four games. Kansas State has also beaten Iowa, South Dakota State and Wichita State during this streak. The Wildcats have lost to Hofstra and Purdue this season. Brittany Chambers led Kansas State with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Northwestern (9-1) lost to DePaul in its fifth game of the season before rattling off five wins in a row. Morgan State and UNLV are Northwestern’s two latest casualties. Kendall Hackney, who had 22 points and five rebounds in the UNLV victory, is one of Northwestern’s top players to watch.
OAKLAND AT No. 20 PURDUE (12 p.m. Tuesday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana)
The Golden Grizzlies enter this game with a 5-4 record and a two-game winning streak following victories over Clemson and Illinois-Chicago. So how could Oakland beat Purdue? Chances are the Golden Grizzlies won’t, but this is one of those games that could be an upset if Purdue stumbles out of the starting gate. Oakland’s Brittany Carnago, recently named Player of the Week in the Summit League, just missed a triple double with 14 points, 11 blocks and nine rebounds in a 48-45 win over Illinois-Chicago. Purdue (8-3) is 2-2 in its last four games with losses to Notre Dame and Central Michigan and wins over Texas A&M and Auburn. Alex Guyton’s career-high 19 points helped Purdue against Auburn.
No. 7 TENNESSEE AT No. 3 STANFORD (7 p.m. Tuesday at Maples Pavilion in Berkeley, California)
On the heels of the top showdown between Baylor and Connecticut, two other major programs face off in what is easily the top game of the early-week schedule. After a rough stretch, Tennessee (7-2) is back to its top form, which includes a five-game winning streak and victories over ranked teams like Texas, DePaul and Rutgers. Its latest victory, a convincing 85-64 win over UCLA, featured a staggering 69.6 percent shooting mark and 18 points from Meighan Simmons. Stanford (7-1) dropped a game to Connecticut back in November but has won four in a row since. The Cardinal topped Princeton 85-66 behind a combined 43 points from the Ogwumike sisters, Nneka (22) and Chiney (21). Stanford does have a 67-game winning streak at Maples, and that could be in jeopardy if Tennessee comes out strong.
MICHIGAN STATE VS. PITTSBURGH (3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico)
Each team has a game to play at Moon Palace before this game takes place, but this still could be an interesting matchup if it breaks correctly. The Spartans (7-4) just lost 61-53 to Texas behind Porsche Poole’s 13 points. These two games, against Colorado State and Pittsburgh, are the tune-ups before Michigan State begins Big Ten play next week. Pittsburgh (5-5) just recovered from a three-game losing streak with a 65-56 win over Valparaiso as Marquel Davis led the way with 17 points. The Panthers lost to High Point, Duke and Georgetown during the streak. Pittsburgh takes on Indiana on Tuesday before the Michigan State matchup.
No. 8 MIAMI AT No. 13 GEORGETOWN (5 p.m. Wednesday at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.)
Two of the more underrated women’s programs that don’t get a lot of attention have a date Wednesday all to themselves. Miami (9-1) lost 92-76 to Tennessee in the second game of the season but has won eight in a row since, including a 103-39 win over Louisiana-Monroe in the last game. Krystal Saunders, Riguna Williams and Shenise Johnson all scored 16 points for Miami in the victory. Miami faces Holy Cross on Dec. 28 before starting ACC play. Georgetown (9-2) also has an eight-game win streak riding following a 1-2 start and losses to Maryland and LSU. Georgetown knocked off ranked Georgia in late November, and the Hoyas’ last two wins are against Pittsburgh (82-54) and George Washington (59-50). Sugar Rodgers’ 18 points and six steals paced the Hoyas.
