Senior Watch: Top WNBA Draft Prospects Advancing in the Tourney

By Brian Martin, WNBA.com

With the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament complete, the Sweet 16 is set and the competition is about to rise to another level. When play resumes on Friday, expect to see more outstanding performances from this year’s top WNBA prospects. But before we move ahead, let’s take a quick look at the opening weekend of action and see who made the best first impressions.

Tourney Blogs: Mosqueda-Lewis on UConn | Loyd on Notre Dame

UConn – No. 1 Seed, Bridgeport Region

Breanna Stewart

One of the top highlights of the opening weekend was Breanna Stewart blocking three shots in a single possession during UConn’s second-round win over Duquesne on Monday.

She finished the contest with five blocks to go along with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Just another day at the office for the All-American and presumptive top pick in next month’s WNBA Draft.

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Moriah Jefferson

Stewart wasn’t the only Husky that shined on opening weekend, as Moriah Jefferson also had a pair of excellent outings.

In the second round win over Duquesne, Jefferson scored 20 points on a super-efficient 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Combine that with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals and its easy to see why she’s one of the nation’s top guards.

It should be noted that UConn won its first two games by a combined 98 points, so the true tests for Jefferson and Stewart lie ahead as the games become more competitive and the potential for another championship draws closer.

Notre Dame – No. 1 Seed, Lexington Region

Madison Cable

The No. 1 seed Irish made quick work of North Carolina A&T in the first round, so Cable only played 20 minutes, but still finished with 15 points (7-11 FG) and seven rebounds.

In Notre Dame’s second-round game vs. Indiana, Cable got off to a slow start, with just two points until late in the third quarter. She scored 10 of 16 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers that helped put the game out of reach.

The fifth-year senior now heads into a matchup with No. 4 Stanford on Friday.

South Carolina – No. 1 Seed, Sioux Falls Region

Tiffany Mitchell

Top-seeded South Carolina rolled past Jacksonville in the opening round with Tiffany Mitchell putting up 14 points, but she also committed five turnovers in the 77-41 win.

Mitchell shined in South Carolina’s second-round win over Kansas State, scoring 16 of her team-high 20 points in the first half as the Gamecocks advanced. The senior guard shot 7-of-13 from the field to go with four boards, three assists and four steals with just one turnover in the final home game of her career.

Baylor – No. 1 Seed, Dallas Region

Niya Johnson

Niya Johnson entered the NCAA Tournament leading the nation in assists at 8.7 per game. After the first two games of the Tournament, that number is definitely set to rise. Johnson finished with 16 assists and just one turnover in top-seeded Baylor’s opening-round win over Idaho.

Johnson followed that up with a 10-assist performance in just 24 minutes as Baylor dominated Auburn to advance to the Round of 16 for the eighth year in a row.

Two games: 26 assists and just three turnovers. There are plenty of WNBA teams that would sign up for that type of production.

Texas – No. 2 Seed, Bridgeport Region

Imani Boyette

While Boyette’s offense was not clicking on all cylinders in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament – she averaged just 6.0 points on 5-15 (.333) shooting, compared to 11.6 PPG on the season – her value on the defensive end was felt in Texas’ two victories to land them in the Round of 16.

The 6-foot-7 center blocked three shots in just 18 minutes of the Longhorns’ opening round win over Alabama State and a pair of blocks and changed plenty of other shots in the paint in the second round win over Missouri.

South Florida – No. 6 Seed, Bridgeport Region

Courtney Williams

South Florida scored 48 points in its opening round win over Colorado State. Courtney Williams had 31 of those points by herself – 64.6% of USF’s offense came from Williams – and she did it while coming off the bench for the first time this season.

Williams was back in the starting lineup for USF’s second round game with UCLA and played all 40 minutes of the content, but it was not enough to upset the No. 3 seed in the Bridgeport Region. Williams scored a game-high 29 points, but shot just 10-of-32 from the field (3-of-9 from three).

The prolific senior scorer lived up to her billing in South Florida’s short NCAA Tournament run. In two games, she finished with 60 points – accounting for more than half of her team’s 115 total points.

Oregon State – No. 2 Seed, Dallas Region

Jamie Weisner

Jamie Weisner’s NCAA Tournament got off to a cold start, as the Pac-12 Player of the Year scored just two points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc in Oregon State’s win over Troy in the first round.

While the Beavers did not need Weisner’s scoring in the opening game, they will if they hope to make a long Tournament run. Fortunately for Oregon State, Weisner bounced back with a 23-point effort on 8-of-15 shooting (2-of-5 from three) in their second round win over St. Bonaventure.

Ruth Hamblin

While Weisner struggled in Oregon State’s opening game, Ruth Hamblin put on a show, finishing with 18 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks in just 21 minutes of play against Troy.

And she’s not just putting up those numbers against No. 15 seeds in the NCAAs. In the Pac-12 championship game against UCLA, Hamblin had 23 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks.

The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year followed up her opening round dominance with a rather quiet game against St. Bonaventure, finishing with just four points (1-6 FG), but still collected 16 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Hamblin’s impact on the game goes beyond her numbers; the mere presence of the 6-foot-6 center in the paint strikes fear into opposing offensive players.

Other Notable Prospects:

Courtney Walker (Texas A&M): Had a pair of nice offensive performances – 29 points in the opener, 18 in the second-round loss for the Aggies.

Megan Podkowa (DePaul): After a near double-double in the opener (10 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast), Podkowa was quiet in DePaul’s second-round upset of Louisville. With the Blue Demons moving on, she has at least one more game to impress.

Adut Bulgak (Florida State): Bulgak was solid (15 pts, 9 reb, 3 blk) in FSU’s opening-round win, but was even better in FSU’s second-round win over Texas A&M. She finished with 18 points (5-11 FG, 7-8 FT) and 13 rebounds as FSU won on A&M’s home floor.

Lexi Eaton Rydalch (BYU): Scored a team-high 22 points and committed seven turnovers before fouling out in BYU’s opening-round loss to Missouri.

Shereesha Richards (Albany): Richards was plagued by foul trouble and finished with 14 points in just 22 minutes before fouling out with over six minutes to play in 12th-seeded Albany’s opening-round upset of Florida. She played all 40 minutes of Albany’s second-round game and finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds in what would be the final game of her collegiate career — a 76-59 loss to Syracuse.

Bria Holmes (West Virginia): Holmes had 26 points (9-21 FG, 2-7 3P) and eight rebounds as West Virginia overcame a slow start to defeat Princeton in the opening round. Holmes had another 20-point game in the second round, but the Mountaineers were unable to slow down Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 45 points to lead third-seeded Ohio State to the win.

Tabitha Richardson-Smith (Seton Hall): Richardson-Smith had a team-high 17 points, but had a poor shooting night, going 7-of-23 from the field and 3-of-13 from three as Seton Hall fell in the first round.

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