The Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament continued on Saturday with the semifinals at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The semifinal results included:
Game 13: No. 1 TCU 71, No. 4 West Virginia 65
Game 14: No. 2 Baylor 84, No. 3 Oklahoma State 74
Sunday’s championship game will feature:
Game 15: No. 1 TCU vs. No. 2 Baylor, 4 p.m. CT, ESPN
Here are three takeaways from the latest day of women’s basketball action.
THE BIG THREE GET IT DONE
There was no release valve for the TCU Horned Frogs in their semifinal game with the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Big Three — Hailey Van Lith, Madison Conner and Sedona Prince — had to get it done.
Why? Because this game was nothing like TCU’s 21-point win a few weeks ago. While the Mountaineers played intense, full-court defense the Horned Frogs only committed 12 turnovers. The Mountaineers had a balanced score sheet, with four players in double figures, led by JJ Quinerly’s 20 points. Neither team got much from its bench.
In fact, there were eight bench points total in the game.
Van Lith had 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists as Quinerly and Kyah Watson took turns defending her. The other was usually on Conner, who had 16 points and made five 3-pointers.
But Prince was the difference. The Mountaineers, as good as they are, have no real matchup for her and she efficiently feasted. She had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds and blocked two shots.
The Mountaineers didn’t make it easy. But, the Horned Frogs rode their Big Three to their first Big 12 title game on Sunday.
VONLEH ON THE WAY
Since the season started, Baylor coach Nicki Collen has talked about forward Aaronette Vonleh as the differentiator on her team. The Bears didn’t have a player with her kind of size and physicality last season. As much as I enjoyed watching Caitlin Bickle play, she was undersized for the role inside a couple of years ago.
Vonleh is 6-foot-3. She can mix it up. She can rebound. She can defend inside. She can score.
Saturday night she went off. She dropped 37 points on Oklahoma State, including a 14-of-25 clip from the field and a 9-for-9 game from the foul line. With two other offensive options fouling out in Bella Fontleroy and Aliyah Matharu, she carried the scoring load all night long.
This game was a duel. It was tight. Neither team gave an inch. Oklahoma State’s Stailee Heard ended up with 25 points and 12 rebounds, leaving the floor after fouling out with what appeared to be a slight limp.
Baylor blew up in overtime, outscoring the Cowgirls, 18-8 in the final five minutes. It was just too much for OSU to overcome.
THE FUTURE FOR OSU, WVU
Both Oklahoma State and West Virginia had exceptional seasons. Both will make the NCAA Tournament and have the potential to reach the Sweet 16. Both will look much different next season.
For OSU, several seniors are headed out the door including guard Anna Gret Asi, center Tenin Magassa and guard Alexia Smith. That’s three of the Cowgirls’ top five leading scorers. Assuming Stailee Heard and Micah Gray don’t transfer, OSU has a great foundation. It also opens up more playing for guard Macey Huard, forward Praise Egharevba and guard Jadyn Wooten.
But WVU is losing its leading scorer in JJ Quinerly, perhaps one of the Top 10 players in program history. Guard Kyah Watson is also listed as a senior, as is starting forward Kylee Blacksten.
Coach Mark Kellogg will be replacing three starters. He has a foundation to start from in guard Jordan Harrison, guard Sydney Shaw, forward Jordan Thomas and guard Destiny Agubata.
In the transfer portal era, success is becoming a year-to-year proposition. Both OSU coach Jacie Hoyt and Kellogg has quality pieces to work with entering next season — once they’re done with their NCAA Tournament runs.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
