6 Things To Look Forward To This Women's Basketball Season | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Sports

6 Things to Look Forward To This Women's Basketball Season

This year women's basketball season is set to be a great one.

132
6 Things to Look Forward To This Women's Basketball Season
Courtney Roman

In This Article:

After about seven months without college basketball, it's about time it's back. This year women's basketball season is set to be a great one. As the season kicks off this week, here are some of the best things to look forward to:

1. A season that might not be dominated by UConn

Unfortunately, people find a lot of pleasure in criticizing women's basketball as a whole and saying UConn is to blame. I think that the years that UConn had complete dominance over nearly every opponent lit a fire inside of every other women's basketball player in the country to chase their dominance. Now we have a season where UConn isn't the preseason number one, and there is going to be a lot of parity.

2. A potential back to back champ in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame has only gotten better than last season in their campaign to defend their title, and this will leave them in a good position to go back to back. The return of post presence Brianna Turner coming off a full season to recover from an ACL, along with another returner of an ACL Mikaela Vaughn, the Irish are going to be packed with talent—especially in their top six players. It's impossible to not mention all the talent that was on the court for the Irish last year that will be returning. Arike Ogunbowale will return after an offseason full of attention after two buzzer beaters to lead the Irish to the championship. And other important parts surrounding her include post player Jessica Shepard, sharpshooter Marina Mabrey, and versatile guard Jackie Young.

3. A UConn team hungrier than ever

The last time a UConn team went two seasons without a championship, they won four championships in a row, and that stretch included their 111 game winning streak.

4. A talent filled Pac 12

The Pac 12 is always an underrated conference as they get hidden behind the east coast and the ACC, but keep your eyes out for this talent-filled conference this year. There are three Pac 12 teams in the preseason top 10- Oregon, Oregon State, and Stanford. Oregon has many of their impact players back on. One of them is star point guard Sabrina Ionescu (pictured above), and the other is the dominant inside presence of Ruthy Hebard. The Ducks are excited to finally welcome Erin Boley, the Notre Dame transfer, to play after the usual season of ineligibility after a transfer. Oregon State and head coach Scott Rueck are also excited to have transfer point guard Destiny Slocum eligible, after a year out. She'll have an immediate impact on the Beavers' success this season. The Pac 12 hasn't won a championship since Stanford in 1992, keep an eye on the teams out west, especially the Oregon Ducks, in their efforts to put an end to that drought.

5. A lot of notable returns across the country

Overall there are a lot of super talented athletes around the country that had dominant seasons last year that are back at it and even hungrier for success. Some include: Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon); Ruthy Hebard (Oregon); Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn); Napheesa Collier (UConn); Crystal Dangerfield (UConn) Asia Durr (Louisville); Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame); Marina Mabrey (Notre Dame); Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame); Jackie Young (Notre Dame); Kalani Brown (Baylor); Teaira McCowan (Mississippi State); Mikayla Pivec (Oregon State); Kat Tudor (Oregon State); Alana Smith (Stanford); Sophie Cunningham (Missouri); Megan Gustafson (Iowa); Kristine Anigwe (Cal) and more.

6. Lindsay Whalen at Minnesota--and the rest of the Big 10

Whalen said goodbye to the WNBA this fall, but not basketball. She's saying hello to a new challenge as she is now in her first season as a head coach at her alma mater, Minnesota. The Big 10 hasn't had the strongest of seasons out of many teams besides Maryland and OSU recently so teams like Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan State, have a chance to make a push this year and put the Big 10 back on the women's basketball map.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

300396
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments