December 29, 2009 - The year wraps up with some great news for veteran hoops player Katie Smith. The Detroit Shock forward was surprised to learn she has been named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the USA’s fourth consecutive gold medal Smith will also be nominated by USA Basketball for the U.S. Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year.

Smith’s shown an unrivaled commitment to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Program, missing just one of the USA’s training camps over the past three years. She may not always put up the big numbers but her contribution to every team she’s been a part of is unparalled so it’s nice she gets the props.

College: No surprise here - Connecticut is the unanimous No. 1 choice for the fifth straight week in the women’s college basketball poll by the Associated Press.

Filed under: Basketball, College Basketball, WNBA by jane
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December 22, 2008 - The big news of the weekend was No. 11 Tennessee upset No. 4 Stanford in overtime 79-69.

South Dakota State joined the Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time entering the rankings at No. 25. UConn was No. 1 for the 113th time in school history, matching Tennessee as the all-time leader of appearances atop the poll.

Maryland defeated Old Dominion 74 - 65.

No. 3 Texas A&M continued its unbeaten streak with a win over TCU 64-50.

No. 24 Florida upset No. 19 Pitt. 90-83.The Gators (11-1) won their 11th consecutive game and snapped Pitt’s nine-game winning streak.

Oklahoma 94 Tulsa 42 The Paris twins and Danielle Robinson contribute double-doubles to OU’s rout of Tulsa.

No. 21 Arizona State tops Xavier 75-57  Briann January scored 16 points to lead Arizona State to the win.

Undefeated UConn over Florida State 83 -71. Will the perfect season continue?

Filed under: College Athletics, College Basketball by jane
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December 15, 2008 - Tennessee’s record run in the top 10 is over.

The Lady Vols’ streak of 211 straight weeks in the top 10 ended Monday when they were ranked 11th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Tennessee, which lost at then-No. 6 Texas 73-59 on Sunday, was last out of the first 10 on March 3, 1997. The run went 56 weeks longer than the men’s record of 155 set by UCLA.

Meanwhile, Connecticut remained an unanimous No. 1 choice for the third consecutive week.

AP Women’s Top 10
1. Connecticut
2. North Carolina
3. Stanford
4. Texas A&M
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma
7. Baylor
8. Duke
9. Louisville
10. Auburn

Filed under: College Basketball, News Bytes by jane
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December 14, 2008 - Four of the country’s best Women’s College Basketball teams tipped-off today at Madison Square Garden for a great cause.  The Maggie Dixon Classic Women’s Doubleheader opened with Rutgers vs. Army followed by UConn vs Penn State.

This event honors the memory of Maggie Dixon, the former Head Coach of the Army Women’s Basketball team, who passed away of a congenital heart ailment at the age of 28, just weeks after leading Army to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

I’d heard of Maggie Dixon before, but was surprised to learn she grew up a couple miles from where I live in Los Angeles and attended Notre Dame, the nearby Catholic high school. Once I started mentioning her name, I ran into all sorts of people who remembered watching her play in the 90’s.

The local connection piqued my interest in the tournament and I was pleased to find out that Madison Square Garden and C.A.R.E. teamed up to offer FREE HEART SCREENINGS to all fans.  Also, a portion of the proceeds from the event benefit C.A.R.E. - an organization that works to fund research and raise awareness of sudden cardiac death due to acquired heart disease and inherited rhythm disorders.

So what about the basketball? Well in the opener, No. 14 Rutgers beat Army 59 - 38. Growing up in New York, Rutgers’ Epiphanny Prince has always been comfortable playing in the Garden.  The Brooklyn native was instrumental in leading her high school to four consecutive public school championships playing at there. Today, Prince scored 25 points and Kia Vaughn added a season-high 12 to help Rutgers beat in the first game of the Maggie Dixon Classic.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Tina Charles had 29 points and 18 rebounds to help top-ranked Connecticut beat Penn State 77-63. Connecticut, who had been on an 11-day break for exams,  struggled to put away Penn State.  The rust showed as Connecticut was sloppy in the early going but Charles took over and her double double made the big difference in the game.

Sad that the event even had to take place but some great basketball nonetheless.

Filed under: College Athletics, College Basketball, General, Student-Athlete by jane
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December 10, 2008 - We don’t write this news. We just link to it.  A handful of nuggets you may find interesting.

Take 2 aspirin
India’s most famous female tennis player will now be known as Doctor. Sania Mirza was conferred an honorary doctorate (Doctorate of Letters) by the MGR University. Now if she could only prescribe something to mend her ailing wrist.

Pressure is a Priviledge
New York-area residents can take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle to spend time with Billie Jean King reading from her latest book at the B&N in Manhattan tonight.

Gear girl
Thinking about a career change? Meet gear girl Kate Anderson who was the equipment manager for the U.S. National Women’s Hockey Team for the Four Nations CUP in November.

Players Perspectives
Oklahoma senior Courtney Paris is one of seven women’s basketball players who are providing periodic updates on their seasons. CP writes…. “random people ask if I’m the one with all the double-doubles. I’m glad to see that people are becoming more aware of women’s basketball. Recently I have learned this about my streak and others: that it is hard to do ……”

The Obama-Olympic Softball Link
Not only is Barack Obama viewed as an asset to Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid, he may help women’s softball in its battle to return to the Olympics.

Filed under: College Basketball, General, Tennis by jane
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December 8, 2008 - Here’s a quick update on some of what happened over the weekend in women’s sports.

Tennis:
Serena Williams withdraws from Australia’s Hopman Cup with hamstring injury

Soccer:
UNC soccer team wins Women’s College Cup adding to dynasty

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team captured the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup with a 2-1 victory against Korea DPR.

Golf:
Michelle Wie earns LPGA card as Lewis wins Q-School

Hoops:
Connecticut remains atop AP poll. North Carolina is second followed by Stanford, Texas A&M, OU and Texas.

TCU shocks California and ends school-record winning streak

No. 8 Notre Dame stays perfect, knocks off No. 20 Purdue 62-51

No. 9 Texas knocks Ole Miss from unbeaten ranks

The #1 girls high school team in the country is upset

Volleyball:
Penn State sweeps Yale, advances to regional semis

Swimming:
Dagny Knutson breaks American Record at 2008 USA Swimming Short Course Nats
Mary DeScenza wins twice at USA Swimming Short Course Nationals

Worth reading:
Michael Wilbon on the end of the Houston Comets

Filed under: Basketball, College Athletics, College Basketball, General, Golf, Serena Williams, Swim, WNBA by jane
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Women’s sports briefs from around the world wide web. We don’t write this news; we just link to it.

Hoops:
Cardinal lose JJ Hones to ACL injury  - Stanford junior point guard JJ Hones suffered a knee injury Sunday during the Cardinal win against Rutgers and will miss the rest of the season. It’s her second ligament tear in two years. Does this preclude Stanford from reaching the Final Four?

Tennis:
Maria Sharapova expects to be back on the tennis tour at the start of 2009 - According to her agent, Masha is planning to defend her Australian Open title after being sidelined since July with an injured right shoulder.

Mauresmo not ready to retire - Former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo has committed herself to at least another year on the WTA circuit in a bid to end her career on a positive note.  The 29-year-old Frenchwoman struggled for form throughout this year and saw her world ranking plummet outside the top 20 as she failed to win a single tournament.

Olympics:  
Modern Pentathlon cut from five events to four - Modern pentathlon has been cut from five events to four in a bid to boost the sport’s popularity and keep it on the Olympic program. The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) voted to combine pistol shooting and running into one discipline to create a shorter and more dynamic event.  Women have competed in the pentathlon since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Volleyball:
U.S. women’s volleyball coach Ping steps down - Jenny Lang Ping, 47, the former star of China’s Olympic champion volleyball team who guided the U.S. women’s volleyball team to the silver medal in the Beijing Olympics, will step down as coach of the US women’s national squad. Known as the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Ping was the only woman coach among those guiding the world’s 20 top-ranked national teams. Ping, who has a 16-year-old daughter, cited family reasons for her decision.

Filed under: Basketball, College Basketball, News Bytes, Olympics, Tennis, Volleyball by jane
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November 25, 2008 - Connecticut started out the season as No. 1 and today they remain at the top of the ESPN/USA Today women’s basketball Top 25.  Meanwhile, Rutgers slipped from second to 11th due to a pair of losses to ranked teams. North Carolina moved up one spot to second and is 5-0, followed by California (3-0), Oklahoma (3-1) and Texas A&M (3-0).

As UConn embarks on their first road trip of the season, coach Geno Auriemma reminisces about the way the team used to travel. Before they flew on chartered flights and ate in fine restaurants, the team traveled by bus and pooled their money for dinner. A road trip in the old days most certainly meant you missed a class or two; now private planes that depart immediately after a game assure players they’re back in time for morning classes.

To get a sense of just how much the Huskies now travel, the New Haven Register reports that when UConn plays tonight at Brigham Young in Utah, it will be the 34th state in which the team has played since coach Geno Auriemma’s arrival in 1985.

Next month, UConn will play three games in Cancun, Mexico, and in the last three seasons,  the Huskies have also enjoyed a trip to Italy and took part in a tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It’s a long way from Auriemma’s first season, when 25 of the 27 games where either in New England or the tri-state area. In the last four seasons, UConn either has played, or will play, games in 22 states.

Yes, it’s good to be a Husky - as long as you like to travel.

Filed under: Basketball, College Athletics, College Basketball, Student-Athlete, Travel by jane
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November 23, 2008 - The women’s college basketball season is in full swing so let’s catch up on some of what’s happening:

 California pulls off huge upset of No. 3 Rutgers - Alexis Gray-Lawson hustled all over the court on the way to 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists and No. 7 California pulled off the biggest home victory of fourth-year coach Joanne Boyle’s tenure with a 66-52 upset of third-ranked Rutgers on Friday night.

Paris notches 100th double-double as No. 4 Oklahoma drops Ariz. State -Courtney Paris had 20 rebounds and 19 points for the 100th double-double of her career and set Oklahoma’s scoring record in the No. 4 Sooners’ 70-57 win over No. 17 Arizona State in the semifinals of the Women’s Preseason NIT.

Hartford stuns fifth-ranked Duke 53-51 - Hartford took advantage of 26 turnovers and handed No. 6 Duke a surprising 53-51 loss in the first game of the DePaul Invitational on Friday night.

Terps: Toliver, big run lead Terps past James Madison - The Terrapin women’s basketball team and James Madison went back and forth for the majority of Thursday night’s game but the No. 11 Terps used a 14-0 run over 3:54 just past the midway point of the second half to outlast the Dukes for a 90-76 win.

Toliver, with career 1,500 points, helps Maryland cruise past UCLA -  Kristi Toliver scored 26 points and passed another career milestone to lead No. 11 Maryland to an easy 88-65 win over UCLA on Sunday.

No. 1 UConn routs San Diego St, 99-55 - Maya Moore led UConn with 21 points, 17 in the first half. The sophomore also had nine rebounds and six assists while playing just 25 minutes. Tina Charles added 17 points for the Huskies, who now have won 26 consecutive home games and 89 straight games over unranked opponents.

No. 1 UConn extends home win streak with rout of Rhode Island - As if Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore weren’t enough, for the third consecutive game, at least five players scored in double figures to help the Huskies rout Rhode Island 91-43 on Saturday.

Bard’s Latiqua Williams records rare Quadruple Double - Bard College Sophomore, Latiqua Williams recorded a rare Quadruple-Double in a 75-28 win over The College of New Rochelle on Sunday, November 16th. Williams scored 21 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, had 11 steals and 10 assists in the victory.

Tennessee nearly upset by Chatanooga - Lady Vol’s Vicki Baugh made a tiebreaking free throw with 53.7 seconds remaining and Tennessee beat Chattanooga 66-63 on Friday night to avoid a major upset.

For great daily coverage, there are a number of bloggers who live and breath women’s hoops so be sure to catch their updates:

Girls Basketball Recuit - Girls basketball news and recruiting information covers D1 - D3 as well as community college and high school ball.
Women’s Hoops Blog - Great commentary on all aspects of the women’s game.

And of course you can always get your women’s basketball news from more traditional media outlets like:

ESPN Women’s Basketball
NCAA Women’s Basketball
USA Today Women’s College Basketball News
Yahoo! Sports - NCAA Women’s Hoops News

Filed under: College Basketball, News Bytes by jane
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November 14, 2008 - If you’re one of those who likes to plan far in advance, then you’ll want to know that New Orleans was just awarded the 2013 Women’s Final Four by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.

New Orleans will become the first city to play host to three Women’s Final Fours.  It previously hosted the event in 1991 and 2004. The 2013 event will be played at the New Orleans Arena.

Hopefully by then New Orleans - one of the best places on earth - will once again be the shining City of the South. 

The NCAA has also picked Denver, Nashville, Tampa and Indianapolis to host women’s basketball Final Fours.

Denver (2012) and Nashville (2014) will be hosting the event for the first time.

Tampa will host in 2015 and Indianapolis, the home of the NCAA headquarters, in 2016.  So women’s basketball fans - start saving those frequent flyer miles and get started on your future travel plans!

For those more interested in the now, today is opening day of the NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball season!  Who will make it to St. Louis for the 2009 Women’s Final Four?  UConn gets the nod in preseason rankings but who will join them?

Filed under: College Athletics, College Basketball, Student-Athlete, Travel by jane
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