WNBA Draft Senior Watch: Eyes on the Finals

Brian Martin

The Final Four is set with No. 1 seeds Connecticut and South Carolina and No. 2 seeds Mississippi State and Stanford headed to Dallas for the national semifinals, which tip at 7:30 ET on Friday, March 31.

Since our last Senior Watch, which looked at the top prospects still alive as the NCAA Tournament hit the Sweet Sixteen, there have been 12 teams eliminated, marking the end of the college careers of many of the nation’s top seniors.

Before we look ahead to the seniors involved in the Final Four, let’s take a quick look back at the final impressions from those that didn’t make it to Dallas.

(Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics)

Second Weekend Recap

Bridgeport Region

  • Brionna Jones, C, Maryland
  • Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, G, Maryland

Two seniors we’ve had our eyes on all season saw their college careers end with a loss to No. 10 seed Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen. Center Brionna Jones and guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each scored 16 points in their final college game, with Jones adding 15 boards for yet another double-double. Maryland led the nation in scoring at over 90 points per game, but were held to just 63 points by a stingy Ducks defense that forced 21 turnovers to pull off the upset.

 

Oklahoma City Region

  • Alexis Jones, G, Baylor
  • Nina Davis, F, Baylor

Between top-seeded Baylor and third-seeded Washington, the OKC Region had four seniors on our watch list that were unable to advance to the Final Four.

Baylor cruised past Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen but were upended by Mississippi State in the Elite Eight. It was the fourth straight year that the Bears were eliminated in the round of eight, needing just one more win to advance to the Final Four. Nina Davis had a strong showing in OKC, earning All-Tournament honors after averaging 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in Baylor’s two regional games.

Jones played sparingly in the Sweet Sixteen game, logging just 18 minutes and contributing seven points and four assists as she continued to work herself back from a knee injury. She was back in the starting lineup for her final college game, scoring 16 points, dishing seven assists and grabbing four boards in the loss to Mississippi State. Jones will don her Bears uniform one more time as she participates in the State Farm 3-Point Contest Thursday on ESPN.

  • Kelsey Plum, G, Washington
  • Chantel Osahor, C, Washington

Before Mississippi State ousted Baylor, they took out Washington in the Sweet Sixteen and ended the college careers of Kelsey Plum and Chantel Osahor. Plum had 29 points in her final game, but shot just 10-25 from the field as the Mississippi State defense focused on slowing down the all-time leading score in NCAA history.

In addition to all of her scoring accolades, Plum also became the first player from Washington to earn AP All-America first team honors and was a unanimous choice.

Osahor also earned All-America honors as a second team selection. The nation’s leader in rebounds and double-doubles had 17 points and 11 boards in her final college game. Before their matchup with Mississippi State, Plum and Osahor penned a feature for the Players’ Tribune highlighting their relationship, playing in Washington and the importance of Grey’s Anatomy to their team.

Lexington Region

  • Lindsay Allen, G, Notre Dame
  • Shayla Cooper, F, Ohio State

Allen and the Irish eliminated Cooper and the Buckeyes with a 99-76 win in their Sweet Sixteen matchup. Allen had 16 points and 10 assists to lead the Irish, while Cooper finished with nine points (4-13 FG), 13 rebounds and four assists in her final collegiate game.

In their Elite Eight matchup with Stanford, Allen and the Irish outscored the Cardinal 23-7 in the second quarter to lead by 14 at the half (45-31). They increased the lead to 16 early in the third quarter, but could not withstand a furious Stanford comeback. After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Alanna Smith put the Cardinal ahead with 23 seconds to play. Both Allen and Arike Ogunbowale had shots blocked in the final seconds as Notre Dame’s season came to a close. Allen had her second straight double-double, finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in her final game.

Stockton Region

  • Leticia Romero, G, Florida State
  • Sydney Wiese, G, Oregon State

In their Sweet Sixteen matchup, Romero scored a team-high 18 points and added five rebounds and three assists to help lead the Seminoles to a come-from-behind win over Wiese and the Beavers. Florida State trailed by as many as 17 points late in the first quarter, but rallied to earn a 66-53 win and move one step closer to their first Final Four.

Wiese and the Beavers saw their hopes of a return trip to the Final Four snapped by poor shooting (36.4%), particularly from beyond the arc (2-17). Wiese, the team’s leading scorer, was held to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting including 0-of 10 from 3-point range in her final collegiate game.

In their Elite Eight matchup with South Carolina, Romero once again led the Seminoles in scoring with 16 points, but struggled with her shot as she finished 6-of-23 from the field. She added six boards, six assists and two steals in her final game, but was unable to push the Seminoles to their first Final Four appearance.

Final Four Preview

Now let’s focus in on the four teams that are still vying for a national championship. While most of the star power left in the tournament comes from sophomore and juniors, there are a handful of seniors to keep an eye on over the final three games of the 2016-17 season.

1 Connecticut vs. 2 Mississippi State, 3/31, 9:30 ET

Connecticut

  • Saniya Chong, 5-8, Guard

Chong is UConn’s sole senior starter and the least celebrated of a group that includes AP First Team All-Americans Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, Second Team selection Gabby Williams and honorable mention Kia Nurse. After struggling for much of her first three years at UConn, Chong has salvaged her senior season as a key member of the overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year.

Chong is averaging career-highs across the board this season and it all starts with minutes. Her 30.6 minutes are nearly double her career average of 16.3 entering this season and it has led to career-highs in scoring (8.2), assists (4.0, 2nd on team), 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 3-pointers. She is shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from 3-point range.

After a career described by both Geno Auriemma and Chong herself as a roller coaster filled with ups and downs, Chong is starting to show the consistency that was so elusive for much of her college career. As Auriemma said prior to the NCAA Tournament opening: “I don’t know where we’d be without Saniya Chong right now. That’s how much she’s changed and added to our program.”

Mississippi State

  • Dominique Dillingham, 5-9, G
  • Breanna Richardson, 6-1, F
  • Chinwe Okorie, 6-5, C

Similar to UConn, Mississippi State is not led by seniors, but rather the junior duo of Victoria Vivians and Morgan William. While Vivians and William are the only two Bulldogs to average more than 10 points this season, the senior trio of guard Dominique Dillingham, forward Breanna Richardson and center Chinwe Okorie have chipped in between 6.7 and 7.7 points per game whether starting or coming off the bench.

Dillingham, an All-SEC defensive team selection, was tasked with guarding all-time NCAA scoring leader Kelsey Plum in the Sweet Sixteen and with the help of her teammates held Plum to 10-25 (40%) shooting as the Bulldogs ousted the Huskies. Richardson averages 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in just 22 minutes per game. However, in the regional final against Baylor, she logged 39 minutes and contributed eight points, five rebounds and a block as the Bulldogs ousted the top seed. Okorie had her best game of the tournament in Mississippi State’s second win over DePaul as she had 12 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Her 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in just 18.9 minutes per game rank fourth and second on the team, respectively.

1 South Carolina vs. 2 Stanford, 3/31, 7:30 ET

South Carolina

  • Alaina Coates, 6-4, C
  • Tiffany Davis, 5-7, G

South Carolina’s roster features only two seniors and neither will be play a major role in South Carolina’s Final Four appearance. Center Alaina Coates was ruled out before the NCAA Tournament tipped off with an ankle injury. While she is projected as a high first round pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, she will not be able to use the Final Four stage to give a final impression. South Carolina’s second senior is guard Tiffany Davis, who is a rarely used reserve that averages just 6.9 minutes per game.

Stanford

  • Erica McCall, 6-3, F
  • Karlie Samuelson, 6-0, G

McCall and Samuelson are two seniors that we have been following throughout the entire tournament and both made major contributions in getting the Cardinal back to the Final Four for the first time since 2014.

In Stanford’s thrilling victory over Notre Dame in the regional finals, it was McCall who blocked Notre Dame’s last-second shot attempt to seal the 76-75 come-from-behind win. McCall played all 40 minutes of that game and finished with nine points, 11 boards, one assist and two blocks, with none more important than that final one.

Samuelson had 15 points in the win, connecting on 5-of-8 shots from beyond the arc. Samuelson, who leads the NCAA in 3-point percentage at 49.0 percent for the season, has been even better in the tournament. She has made 16-of-28 3-point attempts (57.1 percent) in Stanford’s first four games. Can she keep that hot 3-point shooting going for two more games?

If Stanford is able to advance to the title game, they could meet up with Karlie Samuelson’s younger sister – UConn sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson – with the title on the line. Of course, UConn would have to get past Mississippi State and keep their winning streak alive for that potential familial matchup to play out.

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