2021-22 Women's Basketball thread
I didn't realize until now that I forgot to start a WBB thread this season. My bad, lol.
Since there's no men's action to talk about at the moment, I figured it was better late than never now that the CAA slate has started for the women's team.
The Lady Hawks lost @ Northeastern in their CAA opener last night, 77-67. Overall they are 3-8, with one of those wins coming against non-DI Mount Olive. The other 2 victories came against Winthrop (1-8 vs D-I) and UNCG (3-9). Their RPI sits at # 296 and their NET is # 328, lowest in the conference in both ranking systems.
Next up is a Sunday afternoon home tilt with Drexel (8-2, # 92 NET, # 144 RPI), likely one of the top 2-3 teams in the league, at 1 PM.
Offensively, the Hawks have have difficulties finding any consistent scoring outside of their top 3 options. 5-9 grad student shooting guard Sierra DaCosta leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg). The volume scorer, who comes to UNCW from ECU, has taken a whopping 139 shots from the field, including 62 threes, in 11 games this season. No other offensive player on the team has attempted more than 89 shots. Unfortunately, all that volume has not included much efficiency, as she's shooting just .309 from the field and .290 from the perimeter.
5-11 senior and Xavier transfer Carrie Gross, fortunately, has been an efficient scorer for the Hawks. The small forward is shooting .472 (42-89) from the field and is also .929 (26-28) from the free throw line. She's also 3-7 from three. Perhaps her usage should go up a tick, which would boost her 10.3 scoring average. Rounding out the trio of top scorers is 6-0 redshirt senior forward Micah Hoggatt (8.5 ppg). She's also pulling down a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest. Hoggatt played her best game of the season @ NU last night, with 20 points (7-12 shooting), 12 rebounds and a blocked shot, which kept the Seahawks in the game with a superior Huskies squad.
The most intriguing talent on the team outside of this trio is 5-8 grad student Allie Best. An arrival from Marist, the combo guard finished her career with the Red Foxes ranking 9th all-time in assists while also ranking 11th all-time in three-point shooting % (.346). Best began the season coming off the bench, yielding starting PG duties to sophomore Mary McMillan (4.3 ppg, 1.8 apg), but in the last 4 games, the job has shifted to Best. The results have been slow to develop, as Best has only recorded 11 assists in the 4 contests despite exceeding 30 minutes per game in each of them. However, she has at least seen her scoring improve. Best recorded a season-best 11 points last night against the Huskies, shooting 3-6 from 3 in the process. She's also been a pest on defense for opponents all season; she's recorded 2 or more steals in 6 games this season, including 5 swipes against ECU on December 22nd.
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