NCAA Women's Basketball: Saturday's Sweet 16 recap
IT’S THE PERFECT TIME OF YEAR TO THINK ABOUT. WELL, THE SCIENCE OF FREE THROWS. AND FOR A WOMAN WHO LOVES SPORTS AND THEN ALSO LOVES STUDYING THE BRAIN, SHE PERFECTLY MARRIES THE TWO FOR A REALLY INTERESTING STUDY HOW TO GET BETTER AT FREE THROW SHOOTING AND WELL, SO MUCH MORE. DOCTOR KIRSTEN JANJIGIAN A DOCTOR NOW FOR EXACTLY ONE DAY AS SHE JUST FINISHED HER PHD IN KINESIOLOGY, COGNITIVE MOTOR NEUROSCIENCE HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. DOCTOR JANJIGIAN CONCLUDED HER DOCTORATE WITH A STUDY ON THE POSITIVE VISUAL REINFORCEMENT AND ITS EFFECT ON FREE THROW SHOOTING. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY STATIONARY, AND IF WE CONTROL THE METHODOLOGY ENOUGH, WHERE THE PERSON IS NOT MOVING BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY SHOOT THE FREE THROW, WHEN WE’RE WHEN WE HAVE THE EEG CAP ON THEM, THEN IT’S USABLE AND IT’S DOABLE TO GET STRONG DATA. SHOOT, AS WE CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH, IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT DOCTOR JANJIGIAN HAS GONE WHOLEHEARTEDLY INTO A PAIR OF WORLDS THAT FOR SO LONG WERE DOMINATED SOLELY BY MEN. SPORTS AND SCIENCE. BUT THE GROWTH OF INCLUSION FOR BOTH HELPED HER FIND HER FOOTING IN THE FIELD. SHE LOVES. I AM NOT GOING TO SIT HERE AND SAY THAT IT’S EASY BREEZY. IF YOU ARE A FEMALE GOING INTO THIS INDUSTRY ARENA, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, NEUROSCIENCE SPECIFICALLY, THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU ARE THE ONLY FEMALE IN THE ROOM AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A THICK SKIN AND BE READY TO ESSENTIALLY REPRESENT FOR ALL THE FEMALES EVERYWHERE ELSE. SHE ALREADY WORKS WITH ATHLETES ON IMPROVING MENTAL PERFORMANCE, AND NOW THAT SHE HAS HER DOCTORATE, SHE HOPES TO EXPAND MENTAL PERFORMANCE EVEN FURTHER. SO MY IDEAL JOB WOULD BE TO WORK WITH HIGH PERFORMERS. REALLY ANY KIND. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ATHLETIC PERFORMERS WORKING ON OR HELPING THEM WITH THEIR ABILITY TO MANAGE STRESS, PERFORM AT AN OPTIMAL LEVEL, ENJOY THEIR OR INCREASE THEIR ENJOYMENT OF WHATEVER THEY’RE DOING. ENHANCE THEIR WELL-BEING AT THE SAME TIME. NOW BACK TO THE STUDY. I SUITED UP IN THE ELECTRODE CAP TO SEE IF MY FREE THROW PERFORMANCE WAS ENHANCED WITH SOME VISUAL REINFORCEMENT. THAT STORY COMING UP NEXT WEEK
The quest to be the best in college basketball continues.
The Sweet 16 in the NCAA women's Basketball Tournament wrapped up Saturday.
See who is moving on to the Elite 8.
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Gerald Herbert
1
(2) TCU defeats (3) Notre Dame, 71-62
Hailey Van Lith scored 12 of her 26 points in the fourth quarter to help second-seeded TCU beat No. 3 seed Notre Dame 71-62 in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Sedona Prince added 21 points for the 34-3 Horned Frogs, who advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
Next up is Texas on Monday night.
With the game tied at 52 early in the fourth, Van Lith took over. She scored five of the next six points for TCU to give the team the lead. Liatu King scored 17 points for the Irish.
Gerald Herbert
2
(1) Texas defeats (5) Tennessee, 67-59
Madison Booker scored 17 points and No. 1 seed Texas outlasted fifth-seeded Tennessee 67-59 in a tight battle Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Jordan Lee scored 13 points and Taylor Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns, who advanced to face TCU in the Elite Eight.
Booker scored seven points in the fourth quarter, including four straight with the game tied at 54 with five minutes left.
Ruby Whitehorn led the Lady Volunteers with 16 points. Texas held Tennessee to nine points in the fourth quarter.
Young Kwak
3
(2) UConn defeats (3) Oklahoma, 82-59
Paige Bueckers scored a career-high 40 points, rescuing UConn from its first-half doldrums and single-handedly turning a tight game against Oklahoma into an 82-59 rout that sent the Huskies to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Bueckers had 29 points after halftime for the Huskies, who trailed 36-32 at the break.
The likely No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft eclipsed her previous career best of 34 points, set Monday in UConn’s second-round victory over South Dakota State.
The electrifying senior guard matched her career high with six 3-pointers.
Ashlyn Shade added 12 points and Sarah Strong had 11 points and 11 rebounds for UConn, which is seeking to extend its record by winning a 12th national title.
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Young Kwak
4
(1) Southern California defeats (5) Kansas State, 67-61
Kennedy Smith stepped into the void left by injured star JuJu Watkins, scoring 19 points to help Southern California hold off Kansas State 67-61 in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The top-seeded Trojans were considered title contenders before Watkins tore her right ACL during a second-round victory over Mississippi State.
Now they’ll be underdogs in an Elite Eight rematch on Monday with Paige Bueckers and second-seeded UConn.
The Huskies knocked the Trojans out of last year’s March Madness in Watkins’ first season.
Avery Howell, another freshman, scored 18 points for USC. Serena Sundell scored 22 points for Kansas State.
