Before the Women’s NCAA Tournament even tipped-off, Sedona Prince’s viral video, comparing a state-of-the-art men’s weight room to some measly free-weights for the women, shifted the attention away from the court and onto a much more significant issue.
The Oregon Ducks forward’s post rapidly spread on social media, garnering attention from fans, columnists and basketball stars – including Steph Curry, A’ja Wilson and Dwyane Wade – who denounced the blatant inequality and demanded better treatment of female athletes.
The reaction forced the NCAA’s hand, and they quickly revamped the Women’s training area.
Now the tournament is two rounds in, and the Sweet 16 is slated for this weekend. The focus is back on the sports, not the controversy, with fans revelling in the epic moments March Madness never fails to deliver.
And Prince remains at the centre of it all. With the pressure high and the spotlight brighter than ever before, she’s upped her game.
In the first round, the redshirt sophomore scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, adding seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the Ducks routed South Dakota.
She followed that up with a season-high 22 points in the second round, adding two steals and four blocks to carry No. 6 Oregon past No. 3 Georgia.
Here are some more takeaways from the 2021 Women’s NCAA Tournament so far:
UConn can do no wrong
The University of Connecticut Huskies came into the tournament as favourites along with Stanford, and they didn’t disappoint.
Without head coach Geno Auriemma behind the bench after he contracted COVID-19, the Huskies steamrolled through the first two rounds, winning by a combined margin of 79 points.
An 83-47 win over Syracuse in Round 2 on Tuesday marked the 27th consecutive time UConn has made it to the Sweet 16. Within that run, they’ve won the championship 11 times, but they have not captured the prize since 2016.
With her style, ease and confidence on the court, Paige Bueckers is showing why she’s considered the best player in college basketball by many. The freshman guard is averaging 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the tournament.
Paige Bueckers has officially redefined dish duty @UConnWBB#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/GzlmKTXUcm
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 24, 2021
Top-seeded Stanford, South Carolina and N.C. State have all convincingly won their games, as have No. 2 seeds Baylor and Maryland, but at this point it looks like UConn’s tournament to lose.
That said, next round’s matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes won’t be a breeze.
Clark, Nixon with all-time performances
Bueckers is the biggest name, but in next round’s matchup against No. 5 Iowa, she’ll face someone who can go toe-to-toe with her in Caitlin Clark.
The freshman guard, who leads NCAA scoring with 26.8 points per game this season, earned high praise from basketball legend Sue Bird.
“She’s the most exciting player in college basketball right now,” Bird said of Clarke.
In Round 2, she showed off her shot-making prowess from all over the court, and singlehandedly embarrassed the entire Kentucky team, outscoring them 24-22 in the first half on the way to a 35-point outing.
Clark vs. Bueckers in the Sweet 16 could be one for the ages.
Freshman Caitlin Clark is really LIKE THAT
35 PTS | 7 REB | 6 AST | 6/12 3PT against No. 4 Kentucky today
Leading scorer in the country & 2nd in assists @CaitlinClark22 (via @ncaawbb) pic.twitter.com/wpWZHSCQAW
— Overtime (@overtime) March 23, 2021
Texas A&M’s Jordan Nixon unleashed a dominant 35-point display of her own in dramatic fashion against Iowa State in the second round.
The Aggies fought from behind all game and rallied to force overtime, as Nixon’s powerful drive to the rim and finish through contact tied the game with six seconds left on the clock.
In extra time, the sophomore guard put the team on her back, scoring seven of her team’s nine points, and capped it off with an end-to-end, buzzer-beating drive to win the game.
JORDAN NIXON WINS IT AT THE BUZZER
Texas A&M's going to the Sweet 16 behind Nixon's 35 PTS
(via @ncaawbb)pic.twitter.com/pt6cf1nsd1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 25, 2021
It’s not March without big-time upsets
It’s the nature of the event. No series, just one-game knockout stages until the very end, and anything can happen. That’s why predicting a bracket is next-to-impossible.
In the first round, No. 11 BYU beat No. 6 Rutgers, No. 12 Belmont beat No. 5 Gonzaga, and most impressive of all, No. 13 Wright State earned their first-ever NCAA tournament win by defeating No. 4 Arkansas.
It’s only the seventh time a 13th seed has defeated a fourth seed in tournament history.
THAT’S A RAIDER NCAA WIN!!! #RaiderUP | #RaiderFamily | #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/UUywk58WBr
— Wright State Women’s Basketball (@WSUWBasketball) March 22, 2021
All three teams lost out in Round 2, but Cinderella stories remain. No. 4 Indiana and No. 6 Michigan are each set to make their first-ever Sweet 16 appearances on the weekend.
O Canada!
Several Canadians remain in the tournament, including one on each of the remaining No. 1 seeds.
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards leads them all. After Bueckers, she’s arguably the most important player for the Huskies right now. She put up a 19-5-4 stat-line against Syracuse.
“I can always count on her, she steps up every game,” Bueckers said of Edwards. “This is what she’s been doing all year.”
Other notable Canadian performances include:
• Hailey Brown, F, Michigan – Scored 14 points and hit four three-pointers in Round 2.
• Laeticia Amihere, F, South Carolina – Averaging 9.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the tournament.
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