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junker-town · 4 years

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Grading every team in WNBA’s chaotic 2020 offseason

Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

Four stars moved teams, and everyone else tried to keep pace. The WNBA’s superteam movement is here.

The 2020 WNBA offseason is winding down after a full week of the most exciting player movement the league has ever seen. Four game-changing pieces flipped teams in Skylar Diggins-Smith, DeWanna Bonner, Kristi Toliver and Angel McCoughtry, while other teams quietly re-tooled in the W’s new age of superteams.

So who’s made out best so far?

Here’s a rundown of how all 12 teams have done.

Atlanta Dream

Additions: Kalani Brown, Glory Johnson, Alexis Jones, Shekinna Stricklen

Departures: Alex Bentley is still a free agent, Marie Gulich, Brittney Sykes

Most questionable decision: None

The Dream won’t be title contenders in 2020, and their offseason decisions prove they know that. In an effort to rebuild, they shipped out guard Brittney Sykes, on an expiring contract, to land 2019 No. 7 pick Kalani Brown from the Sparks.

Brown was the best player on Baylor’s championship team, and the 6’7 center could be a great building piece for Atlanta. They also signed wing Shekinna Stricklen, a career 38 percent three-point shooter, to a two-year deal, and quality starter Glory Johnson to a one-year deal. The Dream have eyes towards the future, but also gave reason for fans to come watch right now.

Grade: B+

Chicago Sky

Additions: Sydney Colson, Azura Stevens

Re-signings: Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley are expected to re-sign, Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper

Departures: Astou Ndour, Katie Lou Samuelson

Most questionable decision: Trading Ndour for a 2021 first-round pick

The Sky swung and missed on the best free agents available, leaving them steps behind the Mystics, Aces, Sparks, Sun, Mercury and Storm. So instead, they made minor moves, hoping Diamond DeShields breaks out into an MVP candidate to boost the team closer to contention.

The team traded Samuelson along with a first-round pick to land Stevens, a center who was injured for almost all of last season (and who the team could’ve drafted in 2018.) That was a questionable move with a steep asking price. Making a salary cap decision to ship a talented stretch big in Ndour for a first-round pick was confusing, too. The Sky didn’t get much better this offseason.

Grade: B-

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

Connecticut Sun

Additions: DeWannna Bonner

Re-signings: Natisha Hiedeman, Bria Holmes, Jonquel Jones

Departures: Shekinna Stricklen, Morgan Tuck, maybe restricted free agent Courtney Williams

Most questionable decision: None

The Sun landed one of the big four free agents in Bonner, finally erasing the “we don’t have a superstar” label the team threw on itself en route to the WNBA Finals. In fact, now they have two, as the team re-signed center Jonquel Jones. The future of restricted free agent point guard Courtney Williams is still in question, but if she returns, the Sun have unquestionably improved from last year’s great team.

Grade: A

Dallas Wings

Additions: Astou Ndour, Katie Lou Samuelson

Re-signings: Megan Gustafson, Isabelle Harrison, Moriah Jefferson, Imani McGee-Stafford

Departures: Glory Johnson, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Azura Stevens

Most questionable decision: Trading Stevens, and not receiving any players in return for Diggins-Smith

The Wings have one job now: build around Arike Ogunbowale, who was one of the league’s best scorers as just a rookie. To an extent, Dallas has done that by trading for Samuelson, a premier floor-spacing wing and Ndour, a three-point shooting 6’5 big.

Disappointingly, though, Dallas gave up on Stevens, a second-year big from UConn who, if healthy, could become one of the best players in her draft class, for Samuelson. The trade netted the team an additional 2021 first-round pick, which is a win, but may not make up for how valuable Stevens may be. The team also landed three picks for Diggins-Smith, and no players at all. Picks sound nice on paper, but how many rookies can the team expect to keep? The Wings have four of the first nine picks in the 2020 draft.

Grade: B

Indiana Fever

Additions: None

Re-signings: Betnijah Laney, Tiffany Mitchell

Departures: None

Most questionable decision: N/A

The Fever re-signed their restricted free agents, Betnijah Laney and Tiffany Mitchell, and have done nothing else. They’re still sure to miss the playoffs, but the growth of Kelsey Mitchell and Tierra McCowan will be worth watching. The post-Tamika Catchings rebuild keeps (slowly) rolling.

Grade: C

Las Vegas Aces

Additions: Angel McCoughtry, Danielle Robinson

Re-signings: Liz Cambage is expected to re-sign

Departures: Sydney Colson, with Sugar Rodgers, Carolyn Swords and Tamera Young as unsigned free agents

Most questionable decision: Signing McCoughtry

No team in the WNBA has more talent than Las Vegas. The question is if it’s the right talent. The Aces’ problems last year were mostly the result of poor floor-spacing between their two bigs, Liz Cambage and A’ja Wilson. In response, Vegas signed a sub-30 percent three-point shooter coming off major injury in McCoughtry, and added Robinson, a career 13 percent long-distance shooter.

With the Mystics, Storm and Sun stretching the floor on offense and swarming with switchable defensive bigs on defense, I’m not sure how Vegas catches up.

Grade: C+

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Los Angeles Sparks

Additions: Marie Gulich, Kristi Toliver, Brittney Sykes

Re-signings: Chelsea Gray is expected to re-sign, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt

Departures: Alana Beard (retirement), Kalani Brown, Alexis Jones

Most questionable decision: Signing Toliver to a three-year maximum deal

The Sparks got better, and that’s important as Candace Parker nears the end of her career. Poaching Toliver, who helped the team win a title in 2016, was huge. Not only did the signing take away from the reigning champs, but it added a floor-spacer and leader to a team that desperately needed both.

Will signing Toliver, a 33-year-old who nearly missed half of last season due to injury, to a long-term contract bite LA in the future? Maybe. But with Nneka Ogwumike, Gray and Parker all together and healthy now, the team had to take this chance to win now.

Grade: A-

Minnesota Lynx

Additions: None

Departures: Temi Fagbenle is still a free agent, Danielle Robinson

Most questionable decision: Not matching Phoenix’s offer for Diggins-Smith

The asking price for Diggins-Smith (three first-round picks) was reportedly too much for Minnesota, and the franchise may be a long-term winner for holding onto its assets and cap room. As teams keep filling their roster with bloated contracts for next season and beyond, the Lynx may be able to snatch stars whose teams are unable to pay them for a cheap price.

Still, Lynx fans should be a bit disappointed they couldn’t lure Diggins-Smith, especially with Sylvia Fowles at the back end of her career. At least they’ll have Rookie of the Year Napheesa Collier to watch grow.

Grade: B-

New York Liberty

Additions: Layshia Clarendon

Departures: Bria Hartley

Most questionable decision: Signing Clarendon to a two-year deal

The Liberty’s big addition is going to come in April, when they draft Sabrina Ionescu. For now, they’ve been relatively quiet save for signing Clarendon, the Sun’s point guard who missed the playoff due to ankle surgery.

Signing the former all-star to a one-year deal to mentor Ionescu would’ve made sense, but she’s owed $240,000 over two years to stay in New York. Will the 28-year-old who averaged seven points and three assists for her career be worth that deal?

Grade: B

(This grade may change in the future. We’re still waiting to see if the Liberty trade Tina Charles, who they used their core player designation to retain.)

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Phoenix Mercury

Additions: Bria Hartley, Skylar Diggins-Smith

Re-signings: Britney Griner, Yvonne Turner

Departures: DeWanna Bonner, Essence Carson is still a free agent, Leilani Mitchell, Camille Little (retired), Sancho Lyttle (retired)

Most questionable decision: Signing Hartley to a max deal

The Mercury signed arguably the biggest free agent of them all in Diggins-Smith. That’s a huge recovery from losing Bonner who wanted out as a free agent, and none of it would’ve happened without brilliant general manager work. Phoenix was able to sign-and-trade Bonner to Connecticut for three first-round picks. Those picks were then used to land Diggins-Smith.

Then, inexplicably, the Mercury signed Hartley, a backup guard who scored 10 points per game on 36 percent shooting, to a max deal. Phoenix cap-locked itself from landing other free agents in the short term, and gambled with its future cap space. This signing made little sense.

Grade: B

Seattle Storm

Additions: Morgan Tuck

Re-signings: Breanna Stewart

Departures: Courtney Paris and Shevante Zellous are free agents

Most questionable decision: None

The Storm are about to get Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart back after both missed last season due to injury. Those might be the most consequential offseason additions of the winter. With those two back, as well as Jewell Loyd and Natasha Howard, who was an MVP candidate in their absence, the Storm are a favorite to win the 2020 championship. Moving a pick for Tuck was a nice depth move, too. Seattle didn’t need to do anything else.

Grade: B

Washington Mystics

Additions: Leilani Mitchell

Re-signings: Elena Delle Donne, Emma Meesseman

Departures: Kristi Toliver

Most questionable decision: Letting Toliver walk

The Mystics are the league’s reigning champions, and they are bringing the whole gang back together minus Toliver. Washington had a tough decision: keep Toliver at a full three-year max, pray for her health and risk not being able to keep a coveted young player due to cap space in the future, or move on.

They chose to move on after seeing the team win 12 out of 14 games without her in the regular season last year. That move became all the more validated when the team signed Most Improved Player of the Year Leilani Mitchell. Mitchell is coming off the best season of her career, averaging 13 points on 43 percent three-point shooting. The 34-year-old vet should fit seamlessly into D.C.’s pace-and-space system.

Losing Toliver will still sting, though.

Grade: A-

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winterolympicssports2018-blog · 6 years

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Women's NCAA tournament -- Oregon State Beavers ace Sweet 16 test against Baylor Lady Bears

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/womens-ncaa-tournament-oregon-state-beavers-ace-sweet-16-test-against-baylor-lady-bears/

Women's NCAA tournament -- Oregon State Beavers ace Sweet 16 test against Baylor Lady Bears

2:23 AM ET

Graham HaysespnW.com

Graham Hays covers college sports for espnW, including softball and soccer. Hays began with ESPN in 1999.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kat Tudor passed the biggest test of her basketball life Friday, playing her part as No. 6 seed Oregon State got the Sweet 16 underway with an upset win against second-seeded Baylor.

It might even have been the most difficult test she took this week. Or maybe not.

Baylor was riding a 30-game win streak and offered up twin towers Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox. That’s tricky.

But economics has surely defeated as many college students as Baylor coach Kim Mulkey. And before she could practice Wednesday morning, a practice that took place before Oregon State flew to Lexington on its third cross-country flight in a week, Tudor first had to take an econ final. Between a historic win in the second round and a more impressive one Friday, the Beavers had to squeeze in finals week at home.

“I think I did OK,” Tudor said of the econ final. “It’s not in yet, so I’m still a little nervous.”

The grading was more immediate in Oregon State’s 72-67 win against Baylor, which extends the Pac-12 team’s postseason odyssey of miles, finals and games through at least Sunday. After handing Tennessee its first home loss in the NCAA tournament and Baylor its second loss of the season, Oregon State finds top-seeded Louisville standing between it and the Final Four after the Cardinals easily dispatched No. 4 seed Stanford in the nightcap.

From left, Mikayla Pivec, Marie Gulich and Kat Tudor helped Oregon State earn a second Elite Eight appearance in three seasons. AP Photo/James Crisp

No one knows more about Sweet 16 upsets than Louisville, which registered the grandest one of all time when it beat defending national champion Baylor in that round in 2013, and now finds itself the favorite asked to fend off a team on a roll. But if Louisville’s win five years ago was the quintessential stunner, a daring game plan tailored to an opponent and executed with the assistance of an outrageous — and uncharacteristic — shooting performance from the 3-point line, Oregon State’s win against the same opponent had more in common with successful study habits.

Trust that you know the material you spent all season learning.

Oregon State didn’t cram a bunch of miracles into its preparation. With everything else on its schedule, it didn’t have time to. It went with what it knew and waited to see if that was enough.

Granted, it helps when you have the best player on the court. And at least on this night, there wasn’t any question as to that person’s identity. Brown might be an All-American, Cox might be the same in waiting and a marvelous physical talent, but neither was Marie Gulich’s equal Friday.

Someone with a vested interest in that not being the case nonetheless readily confirmed it.

“She has to be older than a senior because she played like she was older,” Mulkey said. “I mean, she was dominant. We had nobody that could guard her. She just reminded me of my days back in international basketball, where she just dominated the floor — shooting, rebounding, finding open players. She was by far the best player on the floor tonight, and she controlled the whole thing for her team.”

“She was dominant. We had nobody that could guard her. … She was by far the best player on the floor tonight.”

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey on Oregon State’s Marie Gulich

Gulich scored 10 points in the first half, as many as she scored in the first half of her first two tournament games combined. She scored her first points on an elbow jumper, testing Brown with a couple of jab steps to make sure she had room to shoot. She scored with a post move, too quick across the lane for Brown. She hit a jumper from the wing. Brown got hers, too, beating Oregon State’s scouting report with some long jumpers, but it was at worst a draw between the two All-Americans in the first half.

“Our scouting report said just attack her,” Gulich said. “And that was my plan today. … I think I just used my quickness really well against her. She’s really tall, and she’s strong, but I think I could get around her and have the shots over her. Defensively, my goal was just to keep her off the block, to just take away her left hand and to not make it easy on her.”

Gulich was just getting started. As is often true, she got better in the second half by not doing anything differently. That sounds easy. It isn’t. Not when the adrenaline fades. Not when the stakes are high. Not when the minutes pile up and there is no one on the bench who is going to take your place. Baylor knew the feeling. Without point guard Kristy Wallace — the Australian’s injury in late February the biggest blow in a season that lacked losses but not adversity — an already short rotation shrank still more. Brown scored six points in the second half. Gulich scored 16.

After winning on the road in the second round, Oregon State is right at home in the Lexington Regional. The sixth-seeded Beavers upset No. 2 seed Baylor in the Sweet 16, snapping the Lady Bears’ 30-game winning streak.

How well 6-foot-5 Marie Gülich plays 6-7 Kalani Brown on Friday (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET) will likely determine whether Oregon State — in the Sweet 16 for the third season in a row just a decade removed from oblivion — can beat Baylor in the regional semis.

A pair of No. 11 seeds brought the #MACtion to the Sweet 16. Can Buffalo and Central Michigan pull off more upsets, or will chalk favor a field that still includes all the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds?

2 Related

Minute after minute, Oregon State still had the presence to take big shots, set screens or just generally demand an opponent’s attention just long enough for a shooter like Tudor, who finished with 16 points, to get an open look.

Look at Oregon State’s final basket, a Katie McWilliams 3-pointer with 12 seconds left that silenced Baylor’s late surge. Gulich set the screen that Mikayla Pivec used to drive toward the basket and draw McWilliams’ defender away from the shooter in the corner. All with Brown kept frozen in place away from the basket on the other side of the court lest Gulich get an open shot.

“She’s hard to double because she faces up,” Mulkey said. “She gets away from the basket. So she is one of those that’s not just a back-to-the-basket post player. She sets those picks for the guards, but it’s not like she’s rolling to that block where you can double her a lot. She got some on-the-block stuff, one-on-one, but they run a system where you have to respect the shooters on the other side of the floor. So you don’t know, ‘How much do I really help off?’ “

That wasn’t anything Oregon State installed in the dark of night this week. Gulich has done that all season. McWilliams didn’t cap off a game in which the Beavers shot the lights out. They hit nine 3-pointers, about their average this season. They shot 45 percent from beyond the arc, a tick above their average.

Nor did they try to reinvent the wheel against Brown and Cox, a combination of size unlike almost any other in the country. Oregon State did what it always does, playing behind Brown, not denying the entry passes but pushing her away from the basket and making her work. They focused on slowing transition, just as they did against Tennessee.

Just as they will have to against Louisville.

“It’s what we do,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “I mean, it’s by design, the way we defend, the way we keep people out of transition. I would say it’s our signature. We’re in the top one, two, three, four in defensive field goal percentage every year, and it’s because we like to stay basket side.”

The tournament has tipped off. Your picks are locked in. It’s time to find out how your bracket is holding up. Check your brackets!

That is in some ways a bolder gamble, to trust that what didn’t work in early losses to the likes of Notre Dame, Duke or UCLA would have taken hold enough to work against the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion.

Then again, it required something of a bold gamble to believe Oregon State could in less than a decade raise itself from the dregs of Division I to be playing for its second trip to the Final Four in three years.

“It’s an expectation of excellence throughout,” Rueck said. “That’s probably the thing I’m happiest about. This team is continuing that legacy of being incredible role models, not just to young girls, not just to young people, to everyone. I mean, they’re inspirational, just the way they carry themselves. And it’s not a women’s basketball thing, it’s a life thing. They do everything right and because of that, they can create experiences like what you just witnessed.”

Not much feels better than walking out of a test you found yourself fully prepared for.

So Tudor will wait on the econ result. But Oregon State aced the basketball exam.

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scottbcrowley2 · 6 years

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Oregon State upsets Baylor 72-67 in women’s NCAA Sweet 16 - Fri, 23 Mar 2018 PST

Marie Gulich had 26 points, Kat Tudor added 16 and sixth-seeded Oregon State shot 58 percent in the second half to upset No. 2 seed Baylor 72-67 on Friday night ... Oregon State upsets Baylor 72-67 in women’s NCAA Sweet 16 - Fri, 23 Mar 2018 PST

#Spokesman.com: Latest stories #Oregon State upsets Baylor 72-67 in women’s NCAA Sweet 16 - Fri #23 M

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casorasi · 6 years

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Tennessee loses in NCAAs for first time at home

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee lost for the first time at home in women's NCAA Tournament history when Marie Gulich had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead sixth-seeded Oregon State to a 66-59 win on Sunday. Tennessee loses in NCAAs for first time at home

#Tennessee loses in NCAAs for first time at home

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newingtonnow · 6 years

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Tennessee loses in NCAAs for first time at home

Tennessee lost for the first time at home in women's NCAA Tournament history when Marie Gulich had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead sixth-seeded Oregon State to a 66-59 win. from WFSB - Sports http://www.wfsb.com/story/37751740/tennessee-loses-in-ncaas-for-first-time-at-home

#Sports

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tonyrickardsutah · 6 years

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WNBA Draft: Mercury select Oregon State C Marie Gulich with the No. 12 pick (ESPN)

from ESPN http://espn.go.com/nba/

#Tony Rickards Utah #NBA #IFTTT #ESPN

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junker-town · 4 years

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The winners and losers of the 2020 WNBA free agency

Photo by Jeff Reinking/NBAE via Getty Images

Making sense of all the player movement in WNBA free agency.

The 2020 WNBA free agency period is off to a hot start as multiple All-Stars are already on the move mere hours after the league’s 10-day moratorium was lifted. This isn’t normal for the W. The league doesn’t typically see high-profile movement in the offseason. But the newly signed collective bargaining agreement has breathed some life into the WNBA’s long and typically uneventful downtime.

The free agency period in 2020 is unique to all involved. It’s a learning experience for players, agents and teams now that the league is offering a maximum salary that’s nearly $100,000 more than it was a year ago for top players, and raised salary floors for rookies and low-end vets. The salary cap also spiked more than 30 percent. With no precedent for how much a player in any scenario is worth, all parties are studying one another to gauge a player’s value.

Two days in, the league got to work, though. Here’s who came out on top.

Winners

The Connecticut Sun

The Sun made the biggest move of free agency by trading three first-round picks (No. 7 and No. 10 in this year’s draft, and their 2021 pick) for the Phoenix Mercury’s All-Star DeWanna Bonner. They also re-signed Jonquel Jones, one of the best players in the world, to a two-year deal, per Winsidr.

Connecticut let Layshia Clarendon walk, traded bench forward Morgan Tuck, and might lose starting forward Shekinna Stricklen in unrestricted free agency. They also paid a steep price to land Bonner (though it’ll keep her under contract for another year than if they signed her as an unrestricted free agent.) But if the team re-signs restricted free agent Courtney Williams, they might be the team to beat in the W.

The Los Angeles Sparks

Another of free agency’s biggest winners is the L.A. Sparks, who signed All-Star guard Kristi Toliver and dished one of their best prospects, Kalani Brown, for a complementary win-now player, Brittney Sykes, from the Atlanta Dream. The team also acquired Marie Gulich in the deal.

In a span of a few hours, L.A. addressed its two biggest problems that made them one of 2019’s biggest disappointments: ball-handling behind Chelsea Gray and floor-spacing. Toliver is a 36 percent three-point shooter, and Sykes is a slashing off-ball guard. The Sparks are in championship contention based on its Day 1 moves alone.

Kalani Brown

Brown was traded to the Atlanta Dream, and she should be thrilled. The No. 7 pick in last year’s draft only averaged 14 minutes per game in 2019 (five points, four rebounds and one block), buried behind a swarm of Sparks bigs. A new home should suit her well. The 6’7 big has natural talent around the rim, and could double her time on the floor in Atlanta’s rebuild.

The Las Vegas Aces, maybe

The Aces pulled off one of the day’s biggest signings when they landed Angel McCoughtry, a five-time All-Star and two-time scoring champion, on a two-year deal worth her maximum salary, per Winsidr. McCoughtry is a lethal scorer who could make an already scary Vegas team that includes Liz Cambage, A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Kayla McBride, much scarier.

The key word there is could, though. McCoughtry missed the end of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season with a torn ACL, though she’s returned to play with Team USA during its exhibition tour, and played overseas for Russian club Dynamo Kursk. McCoughtry’s health is far from a guarantee.

Her fit, on paper, is curious, too. McCoughtry’s known as a slashing wing who works the mid-range. She’s merely a career 29 percent three-point shooter. Vegas has already had problems spacing its two bigs, Wilson and Cambage, down low. The McCoughtry signing should give reason for Aces fans to be excited, but there’s doubt this unit can work together.

Sabrina Ionescu

The New York Liberty are expected to take Oregon’s all-time great point guard Ionescu with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. New York is loaded with talent at the guard spot including All-Star Kia Nurse and last year’s No. 2 pick, Asia Durr. But the inexperienced group is all 23 years old or younger.

That’s likely why the Liberty signed 28-year-old vet and 2017 All-Star Layshia Clarendon on Monday. Clarendon missed most of last season to an ankle injury, but the experienced backup should play key minutes off the bench and mentor one of the league’s quickly rebuilding franchises.

The WNBA

The opening few hours of the WNBA offseason were entertaining as hell. McCoughtry was added to an already loaded (and somewhat despised) Aces team, Bonner was traded to the Sun, and Toliver will help one of the league’s biggest markets. Fans are having fun in February, and that’s so important in driving interest to the W. There’s a long drought between season’s end in October and tip-off in April.

Losers

Mystics

Losing Toliver is going to sting badly for the reigning champion Washington Mystics. Toliver averaged 13 points per game on 36 percent three-point shooting as the most senior guard in the team’s deep backcourt. D.C. played without her last season, winning 12 of 14 games, but that also came in the stretch of Elena Delle Donne playing one of the best seasons in WNBA history. It’ll be tough for her to replicate those numbers.

Head coach Mike Thibault said he does believe the team will re-sign free agents Emma Meesseman and Delle Donne, according to The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace, which is big news. And D.C. still has time to add to its roster. But without Toliver, the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, and Connecticut Sun are closing the gap between one of the league’s best-ever teams and the rest of the field.

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winterolympicssports2018-blog · 6 years

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Gulich, sophomores lead Oregon State to showdown with Lady Vols

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/gulich-sophomores-lead-oregon-state-to-showdown-with-lady-vols/

Gulich, sophomores lead Oregon State to showdown with Lady Vols

7:54 PM ET

Graham HaysespnW.com

Graham Hays covers college sports for espnW, including softball and soccer. Hays began with ESPN in 1999.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Oregon State was already coasting toward a comfortable win against Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But after a couple of less-than-productive possessions early in the fourth quarter, Oregon State coach Scott Rueck calmly offered some advice during a pause in play: “Don’t make it hard.”

He didn’t seem to direct it at any individual, but sophomore point guard Mikayla Pivec was nearest to the coach at the time. On the ensuing possession, she faced up near the 3-point line on the left wing, split two defenders off the dribble and passed to an open Marie Gulich near the opposite elbow. Gulich knocked down the long jumper to extend Oregon State’s lead from a comfortable 25 points to an even more comfortable 27 points.

The sixth-seeded Beavers rarely made it difficult for themselves in an 82-58 win against the No. 11 seed Lady Toppers. Indeed, until the NCAA selection committee sent them to Knoxville and seeded them three lines below host Tennessee, a team they trail by one place in the most recent Associated Press Top 25, Oregon State hadn’t had as difficult a season as many imagined it might. That has something to do with the big German who made Thompson-Boling Arena her own in the second half Friday. It also has a lot to do with the sophomores who built the lead early.

Sophomores who are ready to give Tennessee’s vaunted freshmen a game Sunday.

By the end of Friday’s game, Oregon State’s Gulich had a box score entry commensurate with the senior’s All-America accolades. Gulich alone outscored Western Kentucky in the third quarter and finished the game with 29 points and 15 rebounds. She made 11 of 15 shots from the floor and all seven attempts from the free throw line. On a court that has been a stage for many over the years, she was a player ready for a different level of competition.

Marie Gulich had 29 points and 15 boards to lead second-seeded Oregon State past Western Kentucky. AP Photo/Wade Payne

“She’s very special,” Western Kentucky coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “When you can have a post player that can catch it in the backcourt and be able to bring it up and just be as fluent as she is and to be able to move … she’s a post player that’s very hard to guard because she doesn’t stop moving. She’s very agile and she can finish, she can face up and she can shoot.

“She’s a pro, that’s basically how I can put it.”

Before Gulich even reached double figures, Oregon State actually claimed an 18-point halftime lead and control of the game. The Beavers looked at ease from the outset, which differed from last year’s tournament opener, when they sweated out the final minute and survived at the buzzer at home against Long Beach State.

When Western Kentucky tried early to take away Gulich, Pivec raced through the extra space for layups or set up the Beavers’ offense for a Kat Tudor 3-pointer. Pivec and Tudor nearly outscored the Lady Toppers in the first half between the two of them. Pivec finished with 15 points, eight assists and no turnovers. Tudor finished with 19 points and hit 5 of 11 3-point attempts for a team that, thanks to her, leads the nation in 3-point accuracy.

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“I think they grew up a lot,” Gulich said of each player’s second season. “Last season, they had players in front of them and they didn’t quite know yet. And now this season, with every game, they’re just getting more mature. They’re growing up. I’m really proud of Mik, just her point guard position, she’s making so much progress. And Kat outside, her 3-point shooting, and then she drives to the basket. They’re competitors, and I’m really proud of them for that.”

Western Kentucky tried to pressure Oregon State into mistakes, whether outright turnovers or just wasted possessions. The Lady Toppers switched defenses again and again. They pressured off made baskets. They pressured even when their own turnovers stopped play. It wasn’t anything like 40 minutes of hell — they didn’t have the depth to do that. But it was a concerted effort to make the opponent, particularly Pivec, uncomfortable. It didn’t work.

“I think for us, it came down to preparation,” Pivec said. “We knew, especially once we got a lead, they were going to try and amp up the pressure and turn us over. [It was] just staying calm and attacking space when it was there.”

Oregon State has the sixth-best record in the country since the start of the 2014-15 season, behind only Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, Maryland and South Carolina. It’s no coincidence most of its success came during Sydney Wiese’s time in Corvallis. Moving on without her this season, the Beavers had several options at point guard. They had Katie McWilliams, the junior who generally handled the few minutes Wiese didn’t play while resting or injured. They had freshman Aleah Goodman, ranked among the best point guards in her class.

They also had Pivec.

“And we knew that Mik played it in seventh grade,” Rueck deadpanned.

With usual stars Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen combining for just six field goals, Louisville’s bench produced 33 points and 14 rebounds to spark the Cardinals — a No. 1 seed for the first time — past Boise State in the first round Friday.

A look at the protected markets and channel listings for the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.

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Which means she had thrown javelin for Oregon State’s track and field team more recently than she had played point guard. She started as a freshman, but when Rueck told her this fall that the new role was the best way for her to help the team, she took on the challenge. Pivec actually played in the post for her undersized high school team. Now, she’s the point guard finding Gulich in transition or in the post.

“But I’m glad I’m not a post,” the 5-foot-10 Pivec said. “There are some big girls in there now.”

Western Kentucky tried to take away Gulich. Pivec and Tudor prevented that. The Lady Toppers tried to adjust and take away the 3-pointers. Enter Gulich.

Contrast that with the second game of the day, No. 3 Tennessee’s 100-60 win against No. 14 Liberty that was in some ways almost as impressive for Tennessee’s flaws as Oregon State’s win was for its flawlessness. The Lady Vols looked early like a team with four freshmen and a roster with almost no NCAA tournament minutes beyond Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell. Only a late run provided even the relative comfort of a 36-28 lead at halftime.

Then the Lady Vols scored 64 points in the second half, 32 of them from freshmen. They set a Tennessee record, no small thing for this particular program, by shooting 61.7 percent for the game — 81 percent in the second half.

“We just talked about how we weren’t getting enough transition points,” said freshman Rennia Davis, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. “That’s kind of our game, playing fast and getting points off fast breaks. So I think that in the second half, we just tried to focus a little more on that.”

Tennessee freshman Rennia Davis had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Lady Vols’ first-round win over No. 14 Liberty. Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire

There were flashes of brilliance, quite a few of them after halftime, but that has been a theme for the Lady Vols all season. When they do what they do well, they’re difficult to beat. They just don’t do it as consistently as the teams on the top two seed lines. Or as Oregon State did Friday.

Not yet, at least.

Flashes of brilliance were what Rueck said he saw in Pivec and Tudor a season ago. Like their Tennessee counterparts this season, they arrived with accolades and expectations. Pivec was, at the time she signed, the highest-ranked recruit in program history; Tudor was not far behind her.

“In both instances it seemed as though as soon as they get their opportunity, they’re just going to go, and they’re going to blossom,” Rueck said of Pivec and Tudor. “Sometimes that sophomore year is tough. They’ve handled all the adjustments extremely well. …

“I can’t say I’m surprised; I’m pleased.”

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