Women's College Basketball

Stanford guard Anna Wilson is planning to return for the 2021-22 season.

The fifth-year senior, who is the younger sister of Seattle Seahawks star Russell Wilson, confirmed Monday she intends to suit up for one more year. She told the Associated Press' Janie McCauley the chance to return is "just a really awesome opportunity to have."

Wilson's comments came outside Chase Center before the national championship-winning Cardinal were honored during the Golden State Warriors' 119-116 victory over the Utah Jazz. She expressed frustration at the somewhat informal nature of her announcement:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA allowed Division I athletes in fall and winter sports to gain an extra year of eligibility. That allowed players such as Wilson, who would otherwise be out the door, to give it another go.

The Seattle native made 33 starts for Stanford in 2020-21, averaging 4.6 points and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Seattle Storm selected Cardinal assists leader Kiana Williams in the second round of the 2021 WNBA draft, so Wilson's experience should be invaluable in the backcourt.

And with Alyssa Jerome also coming back, Stanford's roster from a season ago is almost totally intact. Head coach Tara VanDerveer is adding three players (Brooke Demetre, Okikiola Iriafen and Jzaniya Harriel) in the top 100 of HoopGurlz's 2021 recruiting rankings as well.

Twenty-nine years separated VanDerveer's second and third national titles with the program. She might not have to wait anywhere near that long for No. 4.

The USC women's basketball program announced Monday that it has hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Lindsay Gottlieb to be the team's next head coach.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Gottlieb is signing a six-year contract with the school.

Gottlieb took to social media to show her appreciation for the city of Cleveland:

Gottlieb, 43, will return to the college game after two seasons on J.B. Bickerstaff's staff in Cleveland (she was originally hired by John Beilein, though he lasted less than a season as head coach), where she "played a role in everything," per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

That included "game preparation and player development with the Cavs' strong young core of Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro."

Previously, she served as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara (2008-11) and Cal (2011-19). She won two Big West championships, a Pac-12 regular-season championship, led Cal to the Final Four in 2013 and led her teams to seven NCAA tournament appearances.

Per Woj, Gottlieb made the decision to return to the college ranks "after an aggressive USC pursuit to bring her back to the Pac-12 Conference, including a massive upgrade in program salary and resources with hopes of restoring USC to the elite of women's college basketball."

She'll have her work cut out for her at USC—the team went just 11-12 last season and hasn't made an NCAA tournament since the 2013-14 campaign. In the past 24 seasons, the USC women's basketball team has made the tourney just three times.

Baylor hired Atlanta Dream head coach Nicki Collen to replace Kim Mulkey, who left for the LSU job following the 2020-21 season.

Mack Rhoades, Baylor vice president and athletic director, issued a statement on the move:

Today is an exciting day for Baylor University and our women's basketball program. Nicki is a passionate leader of young women and an elite basketball mind and teacher of the game. She is a great mission fit who shares in our vision of Preparing Champions for Life by commanding excellence both on and off the court. Nicki's professional experience will be invaluable to developing players for the next level. Her addition sustains our commitment to the women's basketball program at the highest level. We welcome Nicki, her husband Tom and children, Connor, Reese and Logan, to the Baylor family.

The timing of Collen's hiring was surprising as the Dream are set to tip off the 2021 WNBA regular season against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.

Dream star Chennedy Carter reacted to the news:

This continued an internal upheaval for the Dream, who fired team president and general manager Chris Sienko in late April. Kelly Loeffler and Mary Brock also sold their ownership stake in the franchise to a group that includes former Dream star Renee Montgomery.

While not one of the top title contenders, Atlanta seemingly has a bright future. The team added Cheyenne Parker and Tianna Hawkins in the offseason and has Tiffany Hayes back after she sat out last year. The Dream also selected Aari McDonald with the No. 3 pick in the draft to pair with Carter in the backcourt.

Sienko and the front office were laying the groundwork for long-term success. His and Collen's departures cast a shadow over the organization.

While the outcome was unexpected, Baylor was bound to poach a prominent college or WNBA coach to fill Mulkey's shoes. Mulkey turned the program into a powerhouse, with the Lady Bears winning three national titles under her watch.

Collen does come with some level of risk, though. The Dream finished with the Eastern Conference's best record (23-11) in 2018 before going 15-41 over the next two years. Though she worked as an assistant at multiple programs, including Louisville and Arkansas, the 45-year-old hasn't been a head coach at the college level.

Keeping Baylor in the national championship conversation in 2021-22 won't be easy. DiDi Richards and DiJonai Carrington moved on to the WNBA, while freshman center Hannah Gusters transferred to LSU.

The Lady Bears still have NaLyssa Smith, and Mulkey signed graduate transfer Jordan Lewis from Alabama before leaving.

Beyond returning to her home state, though, Mulkey might have sensed the program was approaching a downturn after it maintained such a high level for years.

It'll be up to Collen to guide Baylor on another deep run in the NCAA tournament in 2022.

UConn announced star basketball player Paige Bueckers underwent surgery Friday to repair an osteochondral defect on her right ankle, per ESPN Women's Hoops.

She is expected to return by the start of preseason action in September.

Beuckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game last season on her way to becoming the Associated Press Women's Basketball Player of the Year—and the first freshman ever to win the award.

The guard was the clear go-to option for a team that reached the Final Four before losing to Arizona in the national semifinals.

Since 1995, every other winner has been a junior or senior except former UConn stars Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart, who both won as sophomores.

Bueckers' impressive performance in her first collegiate season wasn't enough to get the Huskies a title, but they will again go into next year with high expectations.

The team returns each of its top five scorers in Bueckers, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook and Aaliyah Edwards. The squad also adds No. 1 prospect Azzi Fudd, a guard, as part of the second-best recruiting class in the country, per Shane Laflin and Jason Key of ESPN.

As long as Bueckers is healthy, UConn has the talent to bring home its first title since 2016.

LSU has tasked Kim Mulkey with making the Tigers a national champion again.

The school announced Sunday it hired Mulkey as its women's basketball coach, bringing an end to her wildly successful spell at Baylor.

"Kim Mulkey is a champion and a Hall of Famer, and we are thrilled to welcome her home," athletic director Scott Woodward said. "Her accomplishments are unprecedented, her passion is unrivaled, and her commitment to winning in all aspects of life—in the classroom, on the court, and in the community—is unparalleled. We look forward to working with her as she instills that championship culture at LSU."

Baylor Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack B. Rhoades IV issued a statement about the 58-year-old's departure:

"We are grateful for the more than two decades Kim Mulkey poured into building Baylor women's basketball to one of the nation's premier programs. Coach Mulkey's sustained success is one of the most remarkable runs in college basketball history, and her accomplishments are worthy of the Naismith Hall of Fame induction she'll experience later this year."

Rhoades went on to say a search for a new head coach is already underway.

Rumors linking Mulkey to the LSU vacancy gained steam in recent days. The university confirmed Saturday that Nikki Fargas was resigning, with the Associated Press' Doug Feinberg reporting April 16 she was in discussions to take over as the Las Vegas Aces' team president.

Mulkey was also a star at Louisiana Tech after having grown up in the state, so this represents a return home for the legendary head coach.

Still, it remains a bit of a surprise to see Mulkey leave behind a program she helped turn into a powerhouse. When Mulkey arrived ahead of the 2000-01 season, the Lady Bears hadn't reached the NCAA tournament once. They proceeded to make the Final Four on four occasions and win three national titles, the most recent of which came in 2019.

While serving as AD at Texas A&M, Woodward handed Jimbo Fisher a 10-year, $75 million contract to help get the Aggies to the next level on the gridiron. Bringing Mulkey to Baton Rouge shows a similar level of intent.

LSU made five straight Final Fours from 2004 to 2008, with Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles playing starring roles for the Tigers. Since then, the program has yet to return to those heights, only advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and 2014. The Tigers reached a low point in 2020-21 as they went 9-13 and finished eighth in the loaded SEC.

The 2,036 fans LSU averaged per game in 2019-20 illustrated the general lack of buzz around the team. South Carolina, by comparison, had an NCAA-high 12,218 fans at its games.

Mulkey will need a few years to make the Tigers relevant on a national scale again, but her arrival provides an immediate boost.

Connecticut star Paige Bueckers made history, becoming the first freshman to win the John R. Wooden Award for women's basketball.

Bueckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. She learned of Monday's result during an appearance on SportsCenter.

The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll noted the Huskies guard has earned an entire cabinet full of individual trophies this season:

The Wooden Award factors in the regular-season and postseason tournaments.

Through her performance in the Big Dance, Arizona's Aari McDonald made a late push for the honor. McDonald was the engine behind the Wildcats' first-ever appearance in the national championship, and she dropped 26 points and seven rebounds in a 69-59 semifinal victory over UConn.

Texas' Charli Collier, South Carolina's Aliyah Boston, Baylor's NaLyssa Smith and Iowa's Caitlin Clark all built resumes worthy of earning the Wooden Award as well.

But few can take much issue with the final outcome.

According to Her Hoops Stats, Bueckers was first in win shares (12.9) and 15th in offensive rating (125.7). Going back to 2015-16, the 5'11" guard's 59.9 percent effective field goal rate was also second among freshmen with at least 300 shot attempts.

The Hopkins, Minnesota, native was the most hyped player in the 2020 recruiting class, and she might have even exceeded expectations in her first year.

Thanks to Monday's win, Bueckers is now in a great position to do something no other player has to date.

The Wooden Award dates back to 1976-77 on the men's side and 2003-04 for the women. Ralph Sampson is the only two-time men's winner, while Seimone Augustus, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu all lifted the trophy twice.

Nobody has won it three times, and achieving that feat isn't an unattainable goal for Bueckers before she moves on to the WNBA.

The Stanford women's basketball team earned itself quite a fan Sunday.

President Joe Biden tweeted his congratulations to the Cardinal and praised the Arizona Wildcats on a "hard-fought season."

Biden also praised the "grit and tenacity" of Stanford in what was a "uniquely challenging season" for all teams as they competed amid the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented.

Stanford clinched the title with a dramatic two-game run at the Final Four in Texas. It defeated South Carolina 66-65 in the national semifinal after the Gamecocks were unable to capitalize on a chaotic scene in the final seconds when they created a turnover and had shots from Brea Beal and Aliyah Boston that could have won it rim out.

There was a similar situation in Sunday's final when Arizona had the ball down one on the final possession.

Aari McDonald's contested jumper just rimmed out, clinching the 54-53 win and a presidential tweet for Stanford.

After becoming the biggest star in women's college basketball as a freshman, Connecticut's Paige Bueckers was named the 2021 Naismith Women's Player of the Year.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Saturday that Bueckers beat out Kentucky's Rhyne Howard, Louisville's Dana Evans and South Carolina's Aliyah Boston. The 19-year-old was the first freshman to win the women's award in its 39-year history, and she joined Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson as the only first-year players to claim the honor.

Bueckers was the seventh player in UConn women's basketball history to win the award. She joined Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart.

Coming out of Hopkins High School in Minnesota, Bueckers was the most-hyped player in the 2020 recruiting class and was ranked as the best overall recruit by ESPN.com.

Bueckers put up 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals in her first college game and averaged 20.0 points on 52.4 percent shooting, 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Bueckers helped UConn win the Big East regular-season and tournament titles and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women's tournament before it bowed out to Arizona in the Final Four. She was named Big East and Associated Press Player of the Year.

A phenomenal collegiate season for UConn first-year guard Paige Bueckers ended in the Final Four after the Huskies fell to Arizona 69-59 on Friday.

After the game, Bueckers was asked what she learned this season and what she's looking forward to next season:

Bueckers has racked up the accolades this season, winning the Big East Player of the Year and espnW Player of the Year awards in addition to being named an Associated Press First-Team All-American.

The AP also named Bueckers as its Player of the Year, marking the first time the honor has been given to a first-year player in women's hoops.

She's also one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the most outstanding women's and men's college basketball players.

Bueckers finished the season averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game for a Huskies team that went 28-2.

It'll be an all-Pac 12 matchup for the first time in the history of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament final as No. 1 seed Stanford will take on No. 3 Arizona.

Stanford held on for dear life to win 66-65 in a hard-fought Final Four game over No. 1 South Carolina, which missed two potential game-winning buckets in the final couple seconds. Haley Jones' 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting led Stanford.

Arizona then stunned UConn 69-59 behind another phenomenal performance from Aari McDonald (26 points) and fantastic team defense that held the Huskies to just 35.7 percent shooting. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire.

Now Stanford and Arizona will face off on Sunday in the national championship. Stanford is looking for its third national title, while Arizona is shooting for its first.

Here's a look at how the two teams' previous matchups went down alongside three reasons for why each team can win this one. You can also find a score prediction at the end.

Previous Matchups

Stanford beat Arizona in both of their regular-season matchups, and neither game was particularly close.

The Cardinal opened a 44-20 halftime lead before winning 81-54 in the first meeting, with Jones posting an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. Arizona shot just 25.8 percent from the field, with McDonald going 3-of-18.

The second game was a far closer affair, but Stanford still led wire-to-wire in the second half in a 62-48 win. Four Cardinal players scored in double digits, with Lacie Hull's 16 points paving the way.

McDonald led all scorers with 20 points but needed 24 shots to get there. The Wildcats made just 17-of-55 field goals (30.9 percent).

Why Arizona Can Win

1. Variance

The Wildcats shot 34-of-121 (28.1 percent) over the pair of Stanford losses.

Stanford is an excellent team with a 33.0 percent field goal defense rate, but Arizona is a far better shooting team that what it showed against the Cardinal.

The Wildcats began the Final Four making 41.3 percent of their field goals, and the guess here is that they won't be held around the 30-percent range for a third time.

2. Defense

Arizona's defense has been sensational, as best evidenced by its performance against UConn. The Wildcats have held their five tournament opponents to an average of 52.2 points per game on 96-of-261 shooting (36.8 percent).

Arizona set that defensive tone in the first round against Stony Brook, forcing the Seawolves to commit 25 turnovers. Overall, Arizona's tournament opponents have committed 80 turnovers.

That's largely because of the dynamic defensive duo of McDonald and Sam Thomas, who have combined for 29 steals and seven blocks. McDonald is the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and Thomas was Pac-12 All-Defense in 2020.

3. McDonald

Obviously. McDonald put UConn on its heels with hot shooting in the first half, scoring 15 of Arizona's 32 first-half points in a low-scoring affair. She was 4-of-6 from three-point range at one point and ended up with more buckets from downtown than the entire UConn team.

It's been the McDonald show this entire tournament, though. Her 32-point, 11-rebound performance in a 66-53 win over Indiana put Arizona in the Final Four.

That followed a 31-point outing against a Texas A&M team that could have arguably had a No. 1 seed but fell on the No. 2 line. McDonald's effort guided Arizona to a 74-59 win.

A 17-point, 11-rebound, four-steal performance in a 52-46 win over BYU followed a 20-point afternoon versus Stony Brook.

McDonald is simply relentless and can never be counted out. If she gets the three-point shot going, watch out.

Why Stanford Can Win

1. History

An obvious answer here, but Stanford has gotten the job done against Arizona twice before. The Cardinal led by double digits for the entire second half in the first game and the whole fourth quarter in the second matchup.

Their defense was relentless, and their scoring depth helped too. Four players scored in double digits during each contest.

Granted, a pair of strong Stanford wins doesn't guarantee an automatic victory for the Cardinal, but their performances could be harbingers of what's to come.

2. Depth

It's pick your poison when playing this Stanford team. Five players score 7.6 points or more per game, with four posting 9.9 PPG at minimum. If one player has an off-night, another one could be going off and ruining the opposition's evening.

That's more or less what happened in the Final Four against South Carolina. Lexie Hull (third in scoring) had an off-night shooting (4-of-17), but Jones was excellent.

However, Hull was the star in the Elite Eight against Louisville, scoring a team-high 21 points. Before that round, Hannah Jump splashed five three-pointers against Missouri State in the Sweet 16.

The bottom line is that this deep rotation is relentless, and it can cause problems even for an elite defensive team like Arizona.

3. Downtown

Stanford makes nearly nine three-pointers per game, and its 286 makes on the year places the Cardinal fourth in all of Division I. The Cardinal are also sixth in three-point percentage (38.6).

Guard Kiana Williams leads the way with 81 makes, and Hannah Jump (57) and Lexie Hull (44) buoy her efforts.

Stanford simply buries teams from three, making 10 or more on 12 different occasions. Breaking that down further, Stanford has made 13 shots from beyond the arc seven times.

If the Cardinal get hot from deep on Monday, then Arizona may be forced into a track meet where McDonald and Co. have to match them. That's advantage, Stanford.

Prediction

Arizona will come into this game as the clear underdog even if the Wildcats are coming off a fantastic win over a pre-tournament favorite in UConn. Simply put, Stanford has had the better season and beat Arizona twice by a combined 41 points.

However, this game should be a lot closer. Arizona isn't nearly as poor of a shooting team as it showed against Stanford earlier this season, and its defense should be able to keep the Cardinal within arm's length.

Plus, there's a scenario where McDonald becomes invincible and goes for 30-plus points an 10-plus rebounds while contributing elite defense. If that happens, Stanford is obviously in trouble.

The No. 1 overall seed will also find itself with problems if it goes cold from three. The Cardinals have lost two games this season (back-to-back to UCLA and Colorado), and it's no coincidence that the team shot a combined 7-of-32 from beyond the arc against the conference foes.

The formula for Arizona is to slow this game down a bit, play excellent defense, defend the three and hope McDonald produces some more magic.

The guess here is that happens. Yes, Stanford's offense can be relentless, and there's a scenario where the Cardinal just bury the Wildcats from three. A number of players could get hot from deep and give Arizona problems. Jones could also take this game over in the post herself, much like she did against South Carolina.

However, Arizona is fearless, relentless and playing fantastic ball. The Wildcats are the pick.

Pick: Arizona 63, Stanford 62