Women's NCAA Tournament Kingston Regional Overview
The Kingston Region has a clear favorite in Connecticut, but we have seen that the Huskies can be vulnerable this year. However, they do not have to travel very far until the Final Four in Denver and that is a huge advantage. But this region has some tough teams in it, most notably Penn State, Kentucky, Miami and a very under-seeded Green Bay team. The bottom of the bracket is brutal and full of great players. Kentucky is the #2 seed, but Green Bay, Miami, Rutgers and Gonzaga are all capable of reaching the Sweet Sixteen and beyond.
Who Can Win?
Connecticut finished the season strong by knocking off Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament and, on paper, are the favorites to head to Denver. The Huskies are loaded with scoring threats and the opposition has to pick their poison. Will it be Tiffany Hayes, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Bria Hartley getting open looks on the perimeter or center Stefanie Dolson scoring at will in the post? Not many teams have the luxury of stopping Dolson with just one post player.
Miami had some problems down the stretch, but they are still one of the best teams in the nation and are more than capable of pulling off an upset along the way to reach the Final Four. Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams form a dynamic duo on the perimeter who can knock down outside shots and attack the basket. The Hurricanes have shooters, but they do not have to rely on the long ball to win games and that is very important when it comes to winning four, or six, games in a row. One of those days their outside shooting will not be great. For many teams that is when they have to go home, but the Hurricanes can still win without shooting well from long range.
Who Can Surprise?
It is pretty tough to quietly lose three games heading into your conference tournament, but if anybody has done it, it has been UTEP. The easiness of the schedule has kept the Miners off of the national radar, but this is a team that has blown out a majority of their competition. There have been some close games and bad losses (most notably UCSB and Rice at home), but UTEP could be Cinderella.
Kansas State’s expectations have dropped considerably during the last few weeks. But this is the Big 12 we are talking about and every game is tough in the Big 12. KSU lost on the road to Missouri, who only won two games in conference play, but even the Tigers have an RPI hovering around the 100 area. It’s really not that bad of a loss on the road. Of course, the Wildcats will have to play better than they have recently to win a couple games in the tournament, but they are a team that has the talent to reach the Sweet Sixteen…unfortunately though that would involve beating Uconn and that is unlikely.
Who’s Hot?
Princeton has not been tested lately, but they are certainly a hot team heading into the NCAA Tournament on a 17 game winning streak. The Tigers may not be able to compete with the best of the best, but forward Niveen Rasheed certainly can. If they can stay hot and get past Kansas State, the Tigers could at least make things interesting for a little while against Connecticut.
Who’s Cold?
Kansas State has already made the “Who Can Surprise” list, but they are now considered a surprise team because of their recent losses. They have lost four of their last five, with their only victory coming in their first Big 12 Tournament game against Iowa State. About a week earlier they lost to the same Cyclones team and scored a measly 33 points. An offensive showing like that will have the Wildcats headed home early.
Upset Alert!
UTEP got a pretty tough draw as the #13 playing #4 Penn State, but the Miners have had a great season. With a 29-3 overall record, UTEP knows how to win. Coach Keitha Adams has a big roster and she is not afraid to go 12 or 13 deep. That means the Miners can have fresh legs defending Penn State’s Maggie Lucas the entire game and if they can stop Lucas, they can beat Penn State.
What Possible Matchup is Interesting?
There are a ton of fun matchups in the Kingston Region. With Rutgers, Gonzaga, Miami, Green Bay, Iowa State and Kentucky all fighting for one spot in the Elite Eight, no matter what happens those games will be very exciting. If Green Bay can get by Iowa State, they will meet Kentucky in the second round. That is a great second round game. And the winner then has to play Miami…talk about a tough road to earn the right to play Uconn.
Which Player Will Dominate?
There are not many better all-around scorers out there than Maggie Lucas. The Penn State guard averaged 19.1 points per game during the regular season, connecting on 41.1 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc and 43.3 percent from the floor. With Alex Bentley joining her in the backcourt, the Lady Lions have one of the most dynamic backcourts in the nation on both ends of the floor.
Green Bay has a superb wing player in Julie Wojta. She has the size, quickness and scoring knack to drive opposing defenders nuts. Wojta is not just a great scorer and rebounder, but she can also pass the ball effectively and is a great defender. Green Bay was supposed to be a good team this year, but Wojta has turned them into a great team with realistic hopes of an Elite Eight run.
Gonzaga has a few players to keep an eye on this March. Forwards Kayla Standish and Katelan Redmon are the established interior scorers and strong rebounders and Haiden Palmer has developed into the beneficiary of the opposition’s need to clog the paint. Standish and Redmon are tough enough to stop on their own, but when they create open looks for Palmer, she will knock them down and the Bulldogs can outscore just about anybody.
A’dia Mathies has not gotten the recognition she deserves outside of the SEC, but the Kentucky guard leaves it all on the court. She is a good shooter, but Mathies will do most her damage attacking the basket. Unlike a lot of the big scoring guards out there, Mathies can still put up 20 points even if her outside shot is not falling and that makes her a consistent threat game in and game out.
Kingston Region 1st Round Game Breakdowns
