Upsets reign, win streaks tainted in dramatic weekend of women’s hoops

This weekend’s polar vortex has dumped heaps of snow, wind and madness across the women’s college basketball landscape, with top-15 squads Baylor, Virginia Tech, Texas, LSU and UCLA falling in conference play.

Here’s a look back at the biggest storylines from the weekend.

“Hilton Magic” topples No. 4 Baylor

Even with the typically deafening Ames crowd diluted by inclement weather, Hilton Coliseum still worked its magic against No. 4 Baylor on Saturday afternoon. Audi Crooks scored a game-winning layup with 26 seconds remaining, Hannah Belanger converted a clutch pair at the line and Iowa State stormed back late to defeat the Bears 66-63, its third-straight win over Baylor. 

A top-5 upset hardly appeared possible early on as the Cyclones carried a nearly six-minute scoring drought into the second quarter to go with a 13-point deficit. Crooks, who excelled Saturday with 26 points, snapped the dry spell with a jumper as the Cyclones started to manufacture better looks against America’s 13th-best defense, but a late 7-0 spurt from Baylor extended its lead back to double-digits moments before halftime. 

Casting away a sloppy first half with two turnovers on 0-2 shooting, Emily Ryan exited the locker room inspired, serving up two assists and nailing a jumper to bring the Cyclones within a possession. Belanger nailed a triple next possession to tie the game at 39 and would beat the third-quarter buzzer off an assist from Ryan, bringing ISU within two to start the final period of play. 

The Cyclone defense slammed the door shut in the fourth quarter, holding the Bears to just nine points and allowing Crooks to win the game with a heady post move and a finish through contact. Iowa State improves to a perfect 5-0 in Big 12 play, standing with Kansas State atop the conference. 

Ayoka Lee smashes program records to notch No. 10 Texas

In their Friday evening matchup, it was the Wildcats that kept the advantage to extend their win streak to 11 games, 61-58.

Senior center Ayoka Lee got the offensive momentum cooking, scoring the game’s first five points and banking in a team-high 21 points and 10 boards. Lee also surpassed 2,000 career points in the game (2,017), becoming the fourth player to do so in program history. 

The big also tallied four blocks on the night, setting the K-State school record with 284 career blocks. Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell also reached double-digit scoring, netting 10 and 12 respective points with a combined nine rebounds.

Kansas State out-shot Texas 44% to 35%. Though neither team shot particularly well from three, K-State scored two more triples (4-14) than Texas (2-11). Madison Booker led the Longhorns with 23 points but was held to shooting just 27.6% from the field.

The No. 12 Wildcats have now registered two wins over AP top-10 opponents, after beating Iowa in early November; this marks the first time since the 2011-2012 season that they’ve accomplished this feat. Now 17-1 — the program’s best start since 2008-09 — and 5-0 in Big 12 play, they might just leapfrog the No. 10 Longhorns in Monday’s new AP Top 25.

Late run powers Florida State over red-hot No. 11 Virginia Tech

Powering through an errant shooting night and a bulky brace strapped to her left knee, Ta’Niya Latson was far from her star-studded self on Sunday as her 21st-ranked Seminoles scrapped back against an eight-point deficit. But as FSU rode a 13-0 run into the final period in desperate need of a closer, Latson would reemerge, scoring 11 of the Noles’ final 15 points to ice a massive 89-81 home victory over No. 11 Virginia Tech. 

The high-scoring, high-flying Seminoles — FSU enjoys one of the fastest tempos in America with 83.6 points per game to boot — hijacked control from the plodding Hokies almost immediately, scoring 27 first-quarter points where the Noles led by as much as ten. Sara Bejedi opened the game emphatically, scoring seven points in the opening two minutes, and the Finnish sniper would stay hot all afternoon in Tallahassee with a career-high 31 points and five made threes. 

An 11-2 start to the second quarter for VT, powered almost entirely by Matilda Ekh’s perimeter shooting, cast a foreboding tone over the following period, however, as Cayla King’s jumper gave Tech its first lead of the game two minutes before halftime and forced an FSU timeout. The Hokie advantage would balloon to six heading into the locker room, and a game-high lead of 56-48 followed as a three-minute field goal drought clouded a promising Seminole start. 

It was Bedeji once again providing the FSU offense with a critical spark, scoring FSU’s next nine points to pull the Noles back within one, and soon after the home club’s 13-0 run proved to be a decisive push.

Florida State’s victory snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Hokies, as VT suffered its first ACC loss of the season. 

Ball robberies propel Auburn over No. 7 LSU

LSU women’s basketball’s pomp and circumstance resulted in a Neville Arena arena filled to the brim to watch the Tiger-v-Tiger wrestling match. That’s 7,720 fans to be exact, a record for the arena.

And in front of a healthy mix of fans from both SEC schools, Auburn stripped the rhinestones from LSU’s star-studded reputation and snapped its college basketball-leading 16-game win streak, winning 67-62.

Honesty Scott-Grayson sparked Auburn’s onslaught in the first, netting a jumper and foul shot for a four-point lead that the Tigers would double to end the first, 23-15. LSU responded in the second, averaging a 61% clip to take a 37-34 halftime edge.

The teams remained within three points of each other as they battled through the third, and the skirmish continued into the fourth quarter. Eight steals were made in the fourth period alone, and with just a two-point advantage in the final 90 seconds of regulation, Jamya Mingo-Young’s grab from Angel Reese’s grip steered the momentum back toward the home side.

JAMYA MINGO-YOUNG TOOK IT FROM ANGEL REESE 😱

Huge stop for @AuburnWBB! pic.twitter.com/5C86aKzrqu

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 14, 2024

One stat Kim Mulkey’s squad wishes they could address after the game is their performance from beyond the arc. LSU attempted just two three-point shots, missing both, as Auburn went 4-11 from downtown.

To that point, though, LSU held the advantage at the bottom of the key, scoring 42 points to Auburn’s 28 in the paint. Angel Reese notched a double-double with 24 baskets and 11 boards, while Aneesha Morrow and Flau-jae Johnson both added 12 points apiece.

This marked Auburn’s first conference win as they improve to 12-5 on the season. As for LSU, it moves to 16-2, and the Tigers stalk out of Alabama hungry for — what hopes to be the beginning of — a new winning streak.

Golden State rivalry tarnishes No. 2 UCLA’s perfect record

In one hefty conference and state rivalry game, Southern California pummeled the No. 2 Bruins and handed them their first loss of the season, 73-65.

It didn’t take long for the duel to get out of hand — a pair of late three-pointers by McKenzie Forbes in the first notched the Trojans up seven points going into the break (15-8). The Bruins clawed within one in the second period before JuJu Watkins sparked a 15-point run to double the Bruins’ score, 32-16 (their largest lead of the game).

The final two quarters were more of the same, with the tightest score being 67-63 with just less than a minute left in regulation. The Trojans stomped on all hopes of a comeback as they knocked in six foul shots and a layup to seal the deal. 

Continuing her crafty shot, Watkins finished with a game-high 32 points with 10 rebounds and six turnovers. The Bruins, normally shooting 48% from the field, clocked in right at a 40% clip, and just 18% from three.

With UCLA now at 14-1, South Carolina remains the only undefeated team in college basketball this season.