Women's NCAA Tournament Kingston 1st Round Breakdowns
#1 Connecticut vs. #16 Prairie View A&M
Prairie View A&M surprised a lot of teams in the SWAC and won the conference tournament. They are a hot team right now, but playing against Connecticut in Bridgeport will put an end to Lady Panthers little late season run. If Prairie View A&M is going to pull off the huge upset, they will have to shoot more three-pointers than they usually do and knock them down with consistency. Even then, the defense will not be able to keep up with the Huskies potent offense.
#8 Kansas State vs. #9 Princeton
Princeton has had another great season and this could be their chance to win a first round game after losing to Georgetown in 2011 and St. John’s in 2010. The Tigers boast a potent offense and a solid defense. However, the big reason Princeton can win this game is because of their ability to rebound. Forward Niveen Rasheed is a beast on the glass, but just about everybody on the team will help out on the boards. Meanwhile, Kansas State was consistently outrebounded in the Big 12 and they will have to contain Princeton’s advantage in the rebounding department.
#5 LSU vs. #12 San Diego State
Coach Nikki Caldwell came to LSU from UCLA and installed a tough defense right away. The Tigers defense has done extremely well this season and that is where San Diego State is going to run into trouble. The Tigers have a big frontcourt consisting of Courtney Jones, LaSondra Barrett and Swayze Black. The Aztecs lack the offensive firepower to put enough points on the board. If the Tigers can shut down Courtney Clements and her 17.4 points per game, the Aztecs do not stand a chance.
#4 Penn State vs. #13 UTEP
Penn State rarely blows anybody out and UTEP plays great defense. That should lead to a close game and possibly a big upset. The Lady Lions Maggie Lucas is averaging 19.1 points per game and the Miners will have to find a way to at least contain her. But Penn State has plenty of other scoring options and average nearly 76 points per game. The Miners can stay fresh thanks to their ability to go 12 or 13 deep, but this will be one of the most potent offenses they have seen all season long.
#6 Rutgers vs. #11 Gonzaga
This is a fun matchup that pits Gonzaga’s explosive offense against Rutgers stingy defense. The Zags have a trio of big time scoring threats in guards Haiden Palmer and Katelan Redmon and forward Kayla Standish. The Bulldogs have the tenth best scoring offense in the nation and shoot 44.4 percent from the floor as a team. For all the points they score, Gonzaga does a great job of taking care of the ball. But as is often the case when a great offense goes up against a great defense, it is on the other side of the floor where the game is actually decided. If the Scarlet Knights can get good scoring production from guards Khadijah Rushdan and April Sykes, they can outscore Gonzaga.
#3 Miami (FL) vs. #14 Idaho State
Miami struggled a little bit down the stretch, but beating up on Idaho State should help gain a little momentum. The Hurricanes backcourt will score a ton of points in this game. Shenise Johnson averages 16.8 points per contest, Riquna Williams adds 16.6 and Stefanie Yderstrom is back at 11.0. That is a very talented perimeter group and the Bengals lack of depth will get the better of them by the end of the game.
#7 Green Bay vs. #10 Iowa State
The selection committee did not do any favors to Green Bay. The Phoenix finished the regular season with a 30-1 record, losing only to Detroit. This is a team that knocked off the likes of Illinois, Georgia Tech and Marquette, so it is not like the schedule was really, really easy. Iowa State may be their next victim. The Cyclones will need to win this game in the frontcourt with Chelsea Poppens and Hallie Christofferson. However, the Phoenix can pressure freshman guard Nikki Moody and make it difficult for Iowa State to even get the ball into the post.
#2 Kentucky vs. #15 McNeese State
McNeese State started off Texas A&M’s run to the national championship last season and Kentucky hopes to make a similar run this year. The Wildcats are simply way too athletic and deep for McNeese State to handle. However, the Cowgirls are a fine defensive team and rarely turn the ball over, so they might be able to keep this game close for a little. The fact that they were here last year and have a roster full of juniors and seniors will also help them.
