Leopard Print & Pushing Agendas

Hi friends! The next time we chat, I’ll be in Las Vegas covering the Player’s Era Women’s Championship and working on a special project that I cannot wait to share with you all!

I hope everyone enjoys a week full of food, family and basketball! And if you are one of my foreign readers who doesn’t celebrate American Thanksgiving, the point still stands. You don’t need a special day to enjoy those three things. 

Here at Inbox-and-One, we are celebrating women’s basketball every day. So without further ado, let’s talk ball, shall we?

If your team is playing Michigan this season, I’d be worried. If your team is Michigan, congrats! It’s a great time to be a Wolverines fan. It’s rare that I’ll encourage the celebration of a loss, but Michigan’s 72-69 defeat at the hands of No. 1 UConn is one such case. 

First of all, the fight this team showed was incredible. If I was down 45-27 at halftime to the No. 1 team in the country, I would be inclined to stay in the locker room until the arena cleared out. Michigan did no such thing. They also didn’t accept defeat and go through the motions. Instead, they made UConn look flat-out terrible in the third quarter. I can’t remember a time when a UConn team was held to just four points in a quarter and I doubt it will happen again. But Michigan’s defense is exceptional, and Kim Barnes-Arico drew up one heck of a game plan for the second half. Michigan went to a zone and packed the paint in order to neutralize the UConn bigs, which had been their advantage. 

And on offense, sensational sophomores Syla Swords and Olivia Olson went to work. Swords made eight three-pointers – most of them contested – for 29 points. And Olson was a stoic presence. Her game doesn’t have the flash that Swords possesses, but it is hard-nosed and effective. Olson finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. And while sophomore point guard Mila Holloway didn’t have her best showing, she’s still a force to be reckoned with, averaging 12.8 points and 6 assists per game.

All that to say, the excitement around this game doesn’t stem from a three-point loss. It comes from the fact that this young team can play with the best squad in the country. They are a Final Four caliber team right now. And if the core stays together, the next two seasons could be all about the maize and blue. 

If you didn’t see Marley Washenitz’s trick shot to secure a 56-53 win for Arizona State over UNLV, go watch it now. In fact, if you did see it, go watch it again, Watch it at least 10 times and then come back and finish reading. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you!

Welcome back! Now that we’ve all taken the appropriate amount of time to appreciate Washenitz’s moment, let’s talk about Arizona State. We are five games into her debut season, and I’m already impressed. Miller is 5-0, but it’s something simple and a little silly that makes me think Miller is going to be a great coach for the Sun Devils: Animal print. 

Yep, I’m talking about the outfits Miller and her staff were wearing during the win over UNLV. The Sun Devils had an animal print theme night, where they encouraged fans to dress up. And instead of leaving it at that, Miller and her staff all participated. Allowing students and fans to feel like they are truly a part of what is happening with their team is a great way to build a fanbase. It also shows me that Miller doesn’t ignore the small stuff. She’s dedicated to this team and its supporters, and is going to do whatever it takes to build a competitive program. It might take a few years, but don’t be surprised when Miller is in the running for top recruits. She’s the kind of coach people want to play for. 

You may recall that in an earlier newsletter, I put my ball-knowing on the line for Vanderbilt’s freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan. If you weren’t a reader yet, I’ll offer a quick explanation: To put it simply, I am staking my reputation as a basketball expert on Galvan because I think she's going to be special. If I’m wrong, I’ll happily admit that I don’t know ball. 

Let’s check in on the youngster, shall we? In Sunday’s 99-43 win over Tennessee State, she had 16 points, 15 assists and 9 steals. I think my ball-knowing is safe. 

Since I’m already feeling pretty damn good about myself, I’d like to bring another player to your attention: Baylor’s Yuting Deng. 

She first caught my attention last season as a freshman at Auburn. Deng joined the Tigers midway through the season bringing her 6-2 frame and a confident shooting stroke. I was thrilled to see her transfer to Baylor, because I believe Deng is someone who can compete at a high level. She’s an oversized, strong guard with solid instincts and the ability to knock down shots from anywhere on the court. 

Deng is currently averaging 14.8 minutes per game, but those numbers need to go up. Baylor needs more scoring and she is ready to contribute. Plus, I’m ready to be right about another player. 

I want to close today’s recap by shouting out Rhode Island. The Rams secured their first ranked win in two years with a 68-63 victory over No. 16 NC State. The best part? Rhode Island’s leading scorer was freshman Vanessa Harris, who came off the bench to score 15 points. 

NC State has some soul-searching to do, but we can talk about that later. For now, let’s celebrate Rhode Island! Since they are mascot twins, I’m going to do so by watching the 1985 Los Angeles Rams “Let’s Ram It!” music video. I had forgotten it existed until today, so I have Rhode Island to thank for uncovering a piece of history. 

Let’s Ram it!