Earlier on, I coated the primary half of the Bulldogs’ non-conference schedule and it’s time to proceed our preliminary dive into these groups. The again half of this schedule kicks off after Thanksgiving with the crew touring to the Bahamas the place they may take part within the Paradise Jam.
Missouri State: November twenty eighth – Impartial (Paradise Jam)
Located in southwestern Missouri about an hour north of Branson and a pair hours away from the Cherokee Nation, the Woman Bears have a fairly spectacular basketball pedigree for a faculty of their measurement. They’ve made seventeen NCAA Tournaments, reached the Candy Sixteen 5 instances and Ultimate 4 2 instances, gained their convention event 30 instances, and took dwelling the 2005 WNIT Championship.
Head Coach Beth Cunningham enters her third 12 months on the helm. She and the crew can be trying to proceed their streak of seven years with 20+ wins and attain her first NCAA Event with this system. After ending the ‘23-24 marketing campaign 23-10 (15-5) and third within the MVC, Cunningham may have her work reduce out after shedding three gamers, Kennedy Taylor, Indya Inexperienced, and Jade Masogayo, that mixed for a per recreation common of 70 minutes, 29 factors, and 14 rebounds per recreation.
As such, expectations appear to be a bit tempered this 12 months with the MVC Preseason Ballot, which is chosen by coaches, sports activities data administrators and media members, having Missouri State ranked fifth. Nevertheless, this crew isn’t any slouch because the Woman Bears convey again some high degree expertise in 5’4” senior guard Lacy Stokes. She completed final season because the crew’s chief in scoring, 12.8, assists, 4.6, and steals, 2.6, which earned her a variety to the ‘23-24 All MVC Crew and the 2024 All-MVC Event Crew. Within the aforementioned MVC Preseason Ballot, she represents the lone Missouri State participant chosen to the ‘24-25 Preseason All-MVC First Crew.
On the floor, the Woman Bears power seems like it can come within the type of their guards with gamers like Lacy Stokes, 6’0” sophomore guard Kyrah Daniels, and incoming switch from 5’10” guard Zoe Stewart who joins from Murray State. As such, I’m questioning how a lot their type of play will change from final season’s squad that noticed them common simply 14.6 three’s per recreation, 322nd nationally, though the remainder of their offensive numbers, Head Coach Cunningham seems to run a reasonably gradual and defensive-first system that has restricted groups to a mean of simply 66 and 64 factors per recreation in her two earlier seasons. This might be an intriguing take a look at for the Bulldogs offense.
Transfers Out
Natasha Barnes, 5’9, G, Fr. (0.9 PPG)
Jaiden Bryant, 5’9, G, So. (1.1 PPG) → SIUE
Louis Volker, 6’1, F, Fr. (2.9 PPG) → George Mason
Jade Masogayo, 6’3, F, So. (8.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG) → Colorado
Indya Inexperienced, 5’11, F, Jr. (10.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG) → Georgia Southern
Kennedy Taylor, 6’3, F, Jr. (10.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG) → Kansas State
Transfers In
Sarah Linthacum, 6’3, F, Jr. (0.6 PPG) Missouri → Missouri State
Makennah White, 6’2, F, Sr. (3 PPG) Seton Corridor → Missouri State
Cady Pauley, 5’11, G, So. (2.9 PPG) Virginia → Missouri State
Zoe Stewart, 5’10, G, Fr. (8.9 PPG) Murray State → Missouri State
Texas Tech: November twenty ninth – Impartial (Paradise Jam)
After a 15 12 months stretch of annual March Insanity visits from ‘89-90 to ‘04-05 and a Nationwide Championship in ‘90-91, the Purple Raiders have hit the doldrums. Since that point, Texas Tech has solely made two NCAA Tournaments, shedding within the first spherical on each events, and have solely had 20+ wins 4 instances within the subsequent twenty years.
If the Large 12 Preseason Ballot and Awards are to believed, issues are wanting extra of the identical for Lubbock as they enter the ‘24-25 marketing campaign. Final season, the crew went 17-16 (5-13) and completed eleventh of their convention. This season, they’re predicted to complete tenth within the convention and don’t have single participant chosen to the Preseason All-Large 12 Crew.
Nevertheless, that is the ‘24-25 Large 12 we’re speaking about. Within the ESPN’s Girls’s Basketball Means-Too-Early Prime 25 that featured sixteen groups, the Large 12 had 4 representatives. Within the AP’s Preseason Prime 25, three Large 12 groups formally made the reduce with Iowa State, Kansas State, and Baylor checking in eighth, twelfth, and thirteenth, respectively, and three others receiving votes in Iowa, TCU, and Utah.
As such, I wouldn’t learn to a lot into Tech’s rankings within the preseason polls and as an alternative would concentrate on the gamers as this crew is returning largely intact with solely one among their exiting transfers that includes in final 12 months’s beginning lineup, albeit in a restricted function. They return the vast majority of their scoring and, like Missouri State above, the vast majority of this coming from the guard place. Right here, they’ve a pleasant one-two punch in 5’8” junior guard Jasmine Shavers and 5’10” junior guard Bailey Maupin with the 2 combining for a per recreation common of 29.5 factors, 8.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and a couple of.6 steals in ‘23-24. Final season’s main large, 6’3” ahead Jordyn Merrit who averaged 8.1 factors and 5.6 rebounds within the earlier marketing campaign, will get assist from incoming switch Maya Peat who stands at an absurd 6’6” and averaged 10.5 factors and 6.4 rebounds per recreation at Arkansas Pine Bluff.
Transfers Out
Saga Ukkonen, 5’9, G, Jr. (2.1 ppg) → Fresno State
Ashley Chevalier, 5’7, G, Jr. (2.8 ppg) → Houston
Elina Arike, 6’2, F, Sr. (3.7 ppg) → MTSU
Jazion Jackson, 5’9, G, Sr. (11.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg — 2022-23 at UTEP) → Arizona State
Jojo Nworie, 6’5, F/C, So. (12.6 jpg, 8.1 rpg — 2021-22 at Southern Idaho) → Colorado
Transfers In
Maya Peat, 6’6, C, Sr. (10.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg) Arkansas Pine Bluff → Texas Tech
Denae Fritz, 5’11, G, So. (1.6 ppg) Baylor → Texas Tech
Jalynn Bristow, 6’2, F, Fr. (5.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) Iowa State → Texas Tech
Adlee Blacklock, 6′, G, So. (3.5 ppg) Oregon State → Texas Tech
Florida State: November thirtieth – Impartial (Paradise Jam)
FSU seems like a really harmful crew. They completed final season 23-11 (12-6), fifth of their convention, and made the NCAA Event the place they had been bounced within the opening spherical by an Alabama crew that Gonzaga within the non-conference slate final season.
They’re at present ranked #19 within the AP’s Preseason Prime 25, have been predicted to complete fifth within the ACC with 1335 votes and have two gamers, Ta’Niya Latson (G-Jr.) and Makayla Thompson (F-Sr.), that had been chosen to the Preaseason All-ACC Crew. Latson has additionally only in the near past been chosen to Ann Meyers Drysdale Capturing Guard of the 12 months watch listing.
Each of the aforementioned gamers will seemingly be cornerstones for this ‘24-25 Seminole crew as Ta’Niya completed final season with 21.4 factors, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.5 steals whereas Makayla completed with 14.3 factors, 10 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and a couple of.6 blocks.
This can be an extremely robust matchup for the Bulldogs and represents the cherry on high for a Paradise Jam that can seemingly take a look at the crew’s perimeter defensive capabilities to it’s limits. If the Zags can safe the win of their third recreation in as many days, it might go a protracted solution to easing the strain on this crew to achieve March Insanity once more.
Transfers Out
Lucia Navarro, 6′, F, Fr. (1.2 ppg) → Oregon State
Sakyia White, 6’1, F, Jr. (2.5 ppg) → UL Monroe
Transfers In
Malea Williams, 6’4, F, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) Cincinatti → Florida State
Sydney Bowles, 6′, G, So. (3.5 ppg) Texas A&M → Florida State
