This week marks the launch of a new recurring feature that will highlight key takeaways, updates, and observations from the previous week in women’s college basketball. While the primary emphasis will be on South Carolina and the SEC, especially once conference play heats up, the scope will also expand to notable developments across the national landscape.
Most weeks, this column will publish on Fridays, though during the nonconference slate it may occasionally appear on Mondays.
Early Impressions From the Week
What I didn’t like last week: Duke, Pitt, Florida
What I’m unsure about: NC State, Southern Cal, Notre Dame
What impressed me: UConn, South Carolina, and UCLA as early title contenders
Most Teams Still Finding Their Identity
Given the massive roster turnover every offseason, it’s no surprise that very few teams look polished at this early stage. Even South Carolina—despite its obvious championship potential—is still ironing out details. UConn and UCLA might be the closest teams to resembling a finished product, and UCLA hasn’t even had Sienna Betts available yet.
This is exactly why challenging early-season matchups matter. Sure, playing elite opponents increases the risk of a loss, but a Quad 1 loss in November won’t haunt a team in March. Dropping a game to a weaker opponent, however, is something the selection committee will remember.
Why True Point Guards Matter
A major factor behind so many teams still developing an identity is the lack of traditional point guards. This is not about dynamic lead guards—players like Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo or NC State’s Zoe Brooks, who are stars in their own right—but about teams lacking a true floor general.
The South Carolina–Southern Cal matchup illustrates this perfectly. Southern Cal essentially operates without a point guard, while South Carolina has a seasoned leader in fifth-year senior Raven Johnson.
The teams entered halftime locked in a gritty 32–30 battle, but the gameplay didn’t feel nearly that close. Southern Cal relied almost entirely on isolation plays, resulting in heavily contested shots. South Carolina, on the other hand, generated open looks through ball movement—they simply weren’t converting early.
Once the Gamecocks’ shots began falling, they separated quickly. And defensively, Southern Cal’s predictability allowed South Carolina to aggressively swarm the ball.
South Carolina may still be developing, but having Johnson at the helm gives them a massive advantage over most teams.
Bad Losses or Big Upsets? Both.
Let’s highlight the winners rather than dwell on the teams that faltered. The sport saw a wave of surprising results this past weekend:
- Navy stunned Florida, 69–54
- Jacksonville shocked Georgia Tech, 69–64
- And perhaps most stunning, No. 14 Michigan dismantled No. 18 Notre Dame, 93–54 — a margin that raised eyebrows everywhere.
But those weren’t even the biggest surprises.
Division III Scranton delivered one of the most improbable upsets of the season, beating Pitt 69–63. Still, even that wasn’t the wildest storyline of the weekend.
West Virginia Wins Short-Handed After Mass Ejections
During Friday’s game between Duke and West Virginia, a brief altercation broke out near the end of the first half—mostly shouting and some minor shoving. What escalated the situation was that every player on West Virginia’s bench stepped onto the court, resulting in automatic ejections across the board.
That left West Virginia with only five available players for the entire second half, including just one starter.
And somehow, they won anyway, building a 15-point cushion and hanging on for a 57–49 upset, handing preseason No. 7 Duke its second loss of the year.
Offensive struggles have plagued Duke throughout Kara Lawson’s tenure, but this performance was especially alarming. Their inability to capitalize on a depleted opponent was, frankly, indefensible—and Lawson’s postgame comments, where she “repeatedly blamed her players,” did her no favors.
