The Weekly Roundup: Evanston Is Where the Heart Is
Inside Northwestern’s gritty double-overtime win over Michigan
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While watching a bizarre commercial Sunday night that featured a QR code bouncing around the TV, two completely unrelated things occurred to me. First, I realized how much I wanted the QR code square to bounce perfectly into the corner of the screen (a la that cold open from The Office). Second, the country’s top four teams have reliably held serve as of late. South Carolina, Stanford, NC State, and Louisville have compiled a combined 27-1 record since January 21. Obviously, one expects the top four teams to perform like this, but such consistency is nonetheless surprising given how rarely it’s happened this season. Will it continue into the conference and NCAA tournaments? No chance. There’s just too much parity this season for there not to be a surprise or two along the path to Minneapolis.
Before diving into the top on-court moments of the past week, congratulations are in order for the 2022 class of Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees! At halftime of last night’s Big Ten clash between Maryland and Iowa, it was announced that Becky Hammon, Debbie Antonelli, Doug Bruno, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Penny Taylor, Paul Sanderford, Bob Schneider, and Alice "Cookie" Barron will be inducted during a ceremony on June 11. Their contributions have helped shape women’s basketball into the entertaining and quality product that exists today.
Game of the Week: Northwestern prevails in 50-minute slugfest
Forget the physical toll that playing 90 minutes in less than 48 hours took on Northwestern’s players. The emotional roller coaster they, their coaches, and their fans experienced must have been exhausting.
The Wildcats fell on the road Friday night to Minnesota, 74-68, a score that doesn’t reflect Minnesota’s dominance throughout the contest. Less than 48 hours later, Northwestern was tasked with facing the country’s No. 4 team, Michigan. The Wildcats appeared to have the game in hand, leading 58-53 with only 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Then, Michigan’s Danielle Rauch rattled off five straight points, and Northwestern’s Veronica Burton missed a potential game-winner from eight feet to send the game to overtime.
With the score tied 69-69 and 4.5 seconds remaining in the game’s second overtime, Burton intercepted an Emily Kiser pass and was immediately fouled by Maddie Nolan, seemingly giving Burton a chance to put the game away at the free-throw line. However, the officials curiously ruled that Burton did not possess the ball when she was fouled, meaning no free throws were awarded. Northwestern’s anger at the questionable call quickly turned to elation when Burton was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass by Amy Dilk. Despite not having her best shooting night (2-for-13 from the field), Burton calmly drained both free throws, giving the Wildcats a 71-69 advantage with 3.9 seconds left in double overtime. Izabel Varejão’s last-second attempt rimmed out, and Welsh-Ryan Arena erupted with jubilation.
Burton explained how Northwestern pulled off the significant upset despite her team playing so many minutes in such a short timespan: “The way we worked and we fought in that game especially when we just came off a tough road loss less than a day ago, it was just the heart…I think that shows a lot about this team because it takes a lot of heart to be a team like that.”
Second-chance points, points off turnovers, and Burton’s ability to handle Michigan’s hedges off of high-post screens all played key roles in allowing Northwestern to pull off the upset. Michigan grabs nearly 40% of rebounding opportunities on the offensive glass (seventh-best in the nation), yet Northwestern finished with a 13-10 edge in second-chance points. The Wildcats had a +8 turnover differential, resulting in a 27-11 advantage in points off turnovers. The Wolverines’ defensive strategy hinged on stifling Burton’s playmaking ability with hedges on Northwestern’s high-post screens. Whether it was by drawing fouls, splitting the hedge, or simply finding the open player, Burton thwarted this plan with a near triple-double (13 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds).
Northwestern’s Jillian Brown led all scorers with a career-high 18 points to go along with eight boards. Courtney Shaw, who battled Michigan star forward Naz Hillmon all night, dropped 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Despite early foul trouble, Hillmon recorded a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double. Rauch compiled a complete game with 13 points, six assists, and five boards. Kiser also chipped in with 13 points.
Power Six performance of the week: Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
10 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one blocked shot. For a full game, that’s a respectable stat line. In fact, only 78 of Division I’s 4,794 players have managed this as a per game average this season. Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist recorded this line during a five-minute overtime period Friday night, leading her team to a 74-63 victory versus Marquette.
Siegrist was sensational all night long, dropping a career-high 42 points to go along with 13 boards. She joins Ayoka Lee, Caitlin Clark, and Jasmine Dickey as the only players this season with a 40-point double-double. Siegrist’s heroics Friday night extended beyond her superb play in overtime. She drained a jumper with 35 seconds left in regulation to cut the Marquette lead to one and coolly knocked down two free throws with 0.9 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime. How critical was Siegrist’s performance? She scored 42 points on 14-of-25 (56.0%) shooting from the field (plus a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line); the rest of Villanova scored just 32 points and shot an anemic 12-for-37 (32.4%). The Wildcats don’t escape with a win on Friday without Maddy Siegrist’s special performance.
The consistency in Siegrist’s offensive production has propelled Villanova to a 17-7 record, a statement win over then-No. 8 UConn, and the cusp of an at-large NCAA tournament bid. Her 26.4 points per game ranks second in the nation, and she has scored in double figures in every game this season. Siegrist’s seven 30-point games during conference play top the league; no Big East player has more than three 30-point games. She shoots from almost anywhere on the floor, yet despite this and her high volume of shots (seventh-most in the country at almost 20 field-goals attempts per game), Siegrist still hits 50.3% of her field goals. An all-conference first-team member last season, Maddy Siegrist has made a strong case for Big East Player of the Year.
Mid-Major performance of the week: Shaylee Gonzales, BYU
Here’s the list of players to have recorded a stat line of at least 35 points, five steals, and five assists this season: BYU’s Shaylee Gonzales. In the parlance of Twitter, that’s it. That’s the list. In fact, no player since the 2018-19 season has accomplished this feat. Gonzales was so impressive in BYU’s 84-69 win over Saint Mary’s that it had opposing associate head coach Allyson Fasnacht anointing her as the West Coast Conference’s best player. While not the hottest of takes given that Gonzales is the WCC’s reigning Co-Player of the Year, it is indicative of the respect she continues to earn throughout the conference.
“I think tonight, she proved why she’s the best player,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “On the road, [the] team wasn’t playing up to par, [so] she took the team on her back. That’s what MVPs do. That’s what great players do.”
BYU boasts the country’s top-ranked mid-major program (per the most recent AP poll, Her Hoop Stats rating, and CollegeInsider.com’s mid-major rankings) and one of the best offenses in Division I; Gonzales is the primary reason why. Her ability to penetrate and create opportunities for herself and her teammates is unmatched in the WCC. She leads the conference in assists with 5.6 dimes per contest during WCC games. She ranks second in the WCC with 18.4 points per conference game, chiefly because she finishes at the rim better than almost anyone in the country. Her 90.8% field goal percentage on attempts within four feet this season is significantly higher than the Division I average of 59.1%. Only one WCC player since the 2009-10 season has averaged at least 15 points, five assists, and five rebounds in conference play; Gonzales is on pace to become the second. All of this adds up to Gonzales having the eighth-most win shares in the country.
Adam’s Top 25
Here’s my top 25, which as always is based on the criterion of who would currently win in a hypothetical neutral-court matchup.
Her Hoop Stats content in case you missed it
The Her Hoop Stats team released the following podcast content this past week:
In the latest episode of Courtside, Gabe Ibrahim and Christy Winters Scott broke down UConn’s blowout win over Tennessee, Oklahoma guard Taylor Robertson’s outstanding season, the Mystics’ free agency moves, Liz Cambage’s verbal commitment to Los Angeles, and much more.
Jackie Powell of Bleacher Report and The Next joined Gabe Ibrahim on the Her Hoop Stats Podcast touched on a variety of WNBA offseason topics, including players are better off now than before free agency as well as the New York Liberty’s ceiling next season.
From the Chennedy Carter trade to the Tina Charles signing, Richard Cohen analyzed the latest moves in Part 2 of his WNBA free agency roundup.
Tulsa has posted the biggest increase in field goal percentage of any Division I team this season. Tulsa coach Angie Nelp and senior guard Maya Mayberry explained what’s behind this vast improvement to our Derek Willis.
In her weekly review of the Pac-12, Kim Doss recapped Arizona State’s season so far and the Sun Devils’ path to an NCAA tournament bid. Kim revealed her votes for Pac-12 Player of the Week and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and explained why Jade Loville was the conference’s most underrated player last week.
In Part 2 of his FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournaments preview, Robert Mummery broke down each team’s prospects for advancing to the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
In his ACC recap, James Hyman explored North Carolina’s dominance over Wake Forest and Miami plus Georgia Tech’s struggles against NC State.
Other recommended content
The Deseret News’ Jay Drew covered how Utah freshman guard Gianna Kneepkens, who finished her high school career at Duluth Marshall High with a whopping 3,704 points, has flourished in one of Division I’s top offenses.
When she filled in as head coach for UC Merced earlier this month, Leticia “Moses/Mo” Oceguera became just the fourth woman to serve as head coach of a collegiate men’s basketball team. The Richmond Standard’s Kathy Chouteau chronicled this historic moment as well as Mo’s basketball journey.
As an elite D.C. area basketball player, Riley Nelson understood that the path to a top-tier college basketball program typically goes through private school. The Washington Post’s Kyle Melnick discussed how Nelson is still achieving her basketball dreams while attending her local public high school.
Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon makes more than four times the WNBA player supermax, a fact recently called out by Liz Cambage. For The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov compared this ratio to other professional sports leagues and explained why such a pay disparity issue exists in the W.
DePaul leads the nation in scoring, putting up almost 90 points per contest. For Sports Illustrated, Lia Assimakopoulos explored how the Blue Demons have compiled one of college basketball’s top offenses.
Trivia question of the week
The first nationally televised women’s basketball game took place on January 26, 1975 and featured what two teams? One was a three-time AIAW champion, and the other is a Big Ten powerhouse.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.