Women’s college basketball took a few days off for the holidays, but the days before the break were filled with action and 2023 is set to end with a bang.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark registered her 13th career triple-double against Loyola Chicago, and in the process moved into seventh place on the NCAA all-time scoring list. Meanwhile, LSU’s Angel Reese and UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards had outstanding performances in their respective homecoming games.
The year is going to end with several exciting matchups between ranked opponents, including the much-awaited battle between No. 2 UCLA and No. 6 USC. These L.A. schools are two of just 10 undefeated teams remaining in women’s college basketball.
Here are some of the top moments from the past week, as well as some of the main storylines and games to watch over the coming days.
Bucket of the week: Kiki Rice, UCLA
The sophomore guard has shown time and time again she can do it all — including flirting with a quadruple-double earlier this month against CSUN. The Bruins picked up an 85-46 win over Hawaii last Thursday, and Rice had 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals.
One of Rice’s smoothest plays happened in the second quarter, when she got a steal and sprinted to the rim for an acrobatic left-handed layup.
KIKI TOO CLEAN WITH IT 😮💨😮💨😮💨
📺: https://t.co/Rm8us3Oi9i#GoBruins | @kiki_rice0 pic.twitter.com/fufNVaiktz
— UCLA W. Basketball (@UCLAWBB) December 21, 2023
Assist of the week: Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga
The senior guard has registered 94 assists this season, so there are plenty more of these dimes in her highlight reel. Truong reached 500 career assists during Gonzaga’s 81-69 win over Arizona on Dec. 20, and here’s No. 500 in all its glory.
500 career assists for Kaylynne 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/EvfKuiOc61
— Gonzaga Women’s Basketball (@ZagWBB) December 20, 2023
Game of the week: Boston University vs. Northeastern
Sometimes the most exciting battles come from unranked opponents. The Boston Terriers led by five points with two minutes remaining in overtime, but Northeastern’s Derin Erdogan took over the game with a 3-pointer, a steal, another 3-pointer and a free throw to give her team an 80-78 lead with 33 seconds remaining.
A jumper by Boston’s Alex Giannaros tied the game less than 10 seconds later, and teammate Anastasiia Semenova hit a clutch 3-pointer with one second left in overtime to give the Terriers an 83-80 victory.
ANAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! #GoBU
📺 on NESN: https://t.co/jh4lvaeO5K
💻 on FloHoops: https://t.co/zI1BCfD9VZ
📊: https://t.co/yLzIymHOKi pic.twitter.com/sDndJRKEXG
— BU Women’s Basketball (@TerrierWBB) December 22, 2023
Biggest storylines
Caitlin Clark registers 13th career triple-double
The Iowa star recorded 35 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against Loyola Chicago on Dec. 21. After that performance, she now has 3,114 career points and ranks seventh on the NCAA all-time scoring list.
Clark’s 13 career triple-doubles are second in women’s college basketball history, as only Sabrina Ionescu has more with 26. There have only been seven triple-doubles with 35-plus points in women’s college basketball history, and three of those performances belong to Clark.
FROM THREEEE… again 😤@CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Rwmcptg0j8
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 22, 2023
Angel Reese shines in homecoming
The LSU forward scored 26 points in her return to Baltimore as the Tigers took down Coppin State 80-48 on Dec. 20. Reese also added six rebounds and tied a career-high with five steals in front of her hometown crowd.
“I’ve accomplished a lot at LSU, and being able to come back here was important,” Reese said. “A lot of people came out tonight. … Just getting to come to a historically black college was important. My aunt [played] here and my cousin. I got to come back and do a lot for this community and show little girls that this is something that is possible and was very important to me.”
A great environment at Coppin State for the Baltimore return of Angel Reese pic.twitter.com/R3IqGGj6US
— LSU Women’s Basketball (@LSUwbkb) December 21, 2023
UConn dominates in Canada
Ontario native Aaliyah Edwards also had a homecoming game, as Geno Auriemma and the Huskies took on Toronto Metropolitan in Canada. The senior forward registered 26 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
TMU is not an NCAA team, so UConn’s 111-34 victory will not have any effect in UConn’s NET rankings for consideration in postseason seeding. However, it was recognized as a regular-season contest and all the statistics counted.
Queen in the North 🇨🇦
Aaliyah Edwards showed off in her homecoming game in Toronto! pic.twitter.com/J18ZNCbHSP
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) December 21, 2023
Tara VanDerveer on track to become winningest coach
Stanford’s 92-52 win against UC Davis was VanDerveer’s 1,196th career victory. She is on track to surpass Mike Krzyzewski’s record of 1,202 victories to become the all-time winningest coach in all of college basketball.
Only 10 unbeaten teams remain:
South Carolina
UCLA
USC
Marquette
Texas
NC State
TCU
Baylor
West Virginia
Oregon State
Games to watch
(all times Eastern)
No. 10 Baylor vs. No. 5 Texas | Saturday, Dec. 30, 2 p.m. | FOX
This is going to be a battle between two very strong defensive teams. Baylor — which is holding opponents to just 53.1 points per game — has already collected good wins against Utah and Miami this season, but it will soon be facing an even tougher defensive challenge against Texas. Texas holds opponents to 54.6 points per game while forcing 24.3 turnovers per contest, and its best win so far was against UConn on Dec. 3.
No. 11 Utah vs. No. 8 Colorado | Saturday, Dec. 30, 3 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
Both teams have only lost to top ranked opponents this season. The Buffaloes opened their 2023-24 campaign by stunning the defending national champion LSU, and their only loss so far was to a hot NC State team. Utah’s first loss was to Baylor in November, but the Utes bounced back and almost managed to take down No. 1 South Carolina in December behind a career-high 37 points from senior forward Alissa Pili. Pili is one of the top five scorers in the nation with 23.8 points per game, and she’s shooting 69.7% from the field and 56.5% from 3-point range.
No. 6 USC vs. No. 2 UCLA | Saturday, Dec. 30, 5 p.m. | Pac-12 Network
UCLA won its two matchups with USC last season, but both were extremely close. USC was having a breakout year, and now the Trojans have leveled up with the addition of freshman JuJu Watkins as well as the return of junior center Rayah Marshall. The Bruins’ top addition was Stanford transfer Lauren Betts, but they are a well-rounded squad as five players average at least 13 points per game. One thing to keep an eye on: Marshall and Watkins did not play against Long Beach State on Dec. 21 because of undisclosed injuries.
No. 18 Marquette vs. No. 17 UConn | Sunday, Dec. 31, 1 p.m | SNY
The Huskies have struggled with consistency this season and are the only top-20 team with three losses. However, they are starting to find a rhythm, as shown by back-to-back wins over ranked opponents North Carolina and Louisville. A win against Marquette would confirm they are back on the right path. The Golden Eagles, currently 11-0, are off to their best start in program history. Their best win so far was a 76-70 result against Creighton on Dec. 13.