Célia Rivière is the Queen of West Virginia

Put your academic hats on everyone, because this is a test. 

If all but five players on your team are ejected and you’ve only played two minutes in the first half, but are suddenly being called upon to play 20-minutes against a top 25 opponent, what do you do?

A. Pee your pants
B. Find the nearest exit and make your escape
C. Play terribly and lose the game
D. Dominate and lead your team to a 57-49 victory

If you answered D, you might just be West Virginia’s Célia Rivière.

Rivière finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in a victory over No. 15 Duke that was equal parts magic and chaos. 

With a few seconds left until halftime, West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison was blocked by Duke’s Jordan Wood. The latter celebrated a bit too hard for Harrison’s liking and a pushing match ensued. It led to a bench clear by West Virginia, which is an automatic suspension for anyone who comes onto the court. Officials went to the monitor to review the melee, while both squads hit the lockerrooms. West Virginia went to its locker room with a complete roster and came back to the court with just five players. For Duke, only Wood was ejected. 

It should have been an easy victory for the Blue Devils. It wasn’t. Instead, West Virginia came out like the heroes at the end of a fantasy movie. Outnumbered but never outmatched, the new Fab Five (that’s right, move over Michigan), played with heart, adrenaline and pure willpower.

Rivière was at the center of it all. She hunted her shot in the paint like she was a 20-attempt per game scorer. She played defense with abandon and even managed to stay in the game despite picking up her fourth foul with 6:14 left in the game. 

Rivière, Sydney Shaw, Riley Makalusky, Loghan Johnson and Sydney Woodley showed the kind of heart that is usually reserved for the big screen. If I’m West Virginia, construction on the commemorative statute starts now.

After dismantling Ohio State 100-68 (more on that later), Geno Auriemma sat in front of media members and praised No. 14 Michigan, a team his Huskies are set to face next week.

“Based on what I've seen from Michigan they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season," he said. 

The Huskies also play USC, Iowa and Tennessee along with their usual slate of Big East opponents. Auriemma went on to say that he texted Michigan coach Kim Barnes-Arico to congratulate her on her team’s impressive 93-54 win over No. 18 Notre Dame. Auriemma said he wasn’t surprised that the Wolverines won, but was surprised by the lopsided margin. 

Auriemma joked about how challenging he anticipates the Michigan game to be.

“I told Kim I’m not looking forward to Friday,” he said. “She said she isn’t either, so maybe we ought to have a couple of drinks, go gamble a little and call it a day.”

UConn has been more than dominant to start the season and it’s hard to picture anyone challenging the Huskies, but it’s also easy to see what Auriemma sees in the Wolverines. They’re a young team, led by a core of sophomores in Mila Holloway, Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, but this Michigan squad has the kind of chemistry it takes years to build. Against Notre Dame, they put their trust in one another on display as they rotated through traps and double-teams on defense. It was a team effort to limit Hannah Hidalgo, who went 4 of 21 shooting. Everyone did their job and did it flawlessly.

That’s what will make this Michigan team successful this season, and that’s what makes them so much fun to watch. So, sorry Geno and Kim, but as much as you don’t want to play this game, I’m going to need it to happen.

It’s genuinely becoming hard to talk about UConn’s Sarah Strong. She’s so good that I’m running out of words to describe her, which is probably why I accidentally made a Thanos reference. But honestly, it works. Because there truly is nothing you can do to stop Strong.

Let’s start with her stat line against Ohio State: 29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Strong led UConn in every category and did it without committing a single turnover. Her ability to impact every possession on offense and defense is remarkable. It’s also something that can’t really be gameplaned for. Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff found that out the hard way. 

“She’s an exceptional player,” he said. “She is extremely efficient around the basket, she’s great from the 3-point line. But probably more important than all of that is she’s got a terrific basketball IQ. She makes so many good decisions, so many reads that really helps the offense flow so well.”

For Auriemma, Strong is already the same caliber as players like Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. At this point, nothing she does on the court surprises him. And that’s after 40 years of coaching the country’s best players. Well, one thing does.

“What surprises me is how simple she makes the game look,” he said.

More specifically, we need to talk about why more people aren’t talking about Marta Suarez. In my opinion, Suarez is must-see TV because of the way she approaches the game. Her footwork around the basket, her quick release from beyond the arc, her versatility, it all adds up to downright beautiful ball.

It’s the kind of artistic play that makes you fall in love with this sport all over again. If you haven’t seen Suarez play, or if you are simply looking to renew your passion for basketball, tune into TCU and watch how Suarez dances around her defenders in the paint. 

During her first two years of college basketball, Suarez didn’t make much of an impact at Tennessee. Then, she transferred to Cal and truly blossomed. But Cal isn’t a program that is lauded nationally, so Suarez didn’t get the recognition she deserved. Now, with one season left, she’s on the big stage at TCU. And quite frankly. It’s what she deserves. So do your part and tell a friend about Marta Suarez. Better yet, tell two, and make sure to watch TCU’s next game.

Did you think West Virginia’s win over Duke was going to be the biggest upset of the week? I know I did. But Scranton University had other ideas. The Division III squad – yes, not one, not two, but THREE – upset Division 1 opponent Pittsburgh 69-63 on Sunday. The Royals secured the win thanks to a 25-13 fourth quarter comeback, adding to the drama. 

Scranton was led by Elizabeth Bennett with 15 points, 5 rebounds and two blocks, and Katie Gorski with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. 

Before today I didn’t know there was a Scranton University. But I promise you, I won’t forget the Royals now.

I stumbled upon this Reddit post about a brother hoping to learn more about women’s basketball in order to connect with his little sister and I had to share. One of the things I love the most about this sport is how it’s allowed my family to connect in a new way. I have two sisters, and growing up, we loved sports. But we loved men’s sports. Why? Because that’s all we could watch. But as women’s sports got more accessible we all started gravitating toward them. Now, I have a group chat with my mom and sisters that is 50% pictures of our pets and 50% women’s basketball chatter. It warms my WBB loving heart to see others bonding in the same way.