Transfers Led The Way On Sunday To WBB NCAA Sweet 16

Forbes

24-03-2025

The Division I women's basketball transfer portal window opens tomorrow after the conclusion of the remaining round of 32 games tonight and will be open until April 23. However, the transfer portal's impact was on full display over the weekend, especially last night during the tournament's second round.
On Sunday, transfer players were key performers whether their teams won or lost. It seems despite the emphasis of the transfer portal in the men's game, the influx and use of the transfer portal is just as influential in the women's game as every team who played in Sunday's round of 32 games in hopes of making the Sweet 16 were dependent on transfer players minutes and production.
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 23: Deja Kelly #25 of the Oregon Ducks drives to the basket while ... More guarded by Oluchi Okananwa #5 of the Duke Blue Devils in the second half during a second round game of the women's NCAA basketball tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 23, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by)
No. 10 Oregon saw their story come to an end losing to No. 2 Duke, 59-53 on the back of transfer Deja Kelly, someone who is no stranger to playing at Cameron Indoor or facing the Blue Devils. Kelly played her previous four years at North Carolina where she was a three-time All-ACC selection and WBCA All-America honorable mention selection. In the loss to Duke she had 20 points, but spoke highly of her time at Oregon and regaining her love of the game, 'I could not be more thankful for this group, for the staff, for the program...I just wanted to get back to having fun playing the game again, playing with joy, and the minute I stepped on campus, that's what it was. That's what it was all about. I've never felt more connected with a team in my whole career.' For the Blue Devils, they were led by junior Ashlon Jackson who had a breakout game scoring 14 of her 20 points in the second half to take her team to the Sweet 16 on back-to-back seasons.
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 23: Shay Ciezki #10 of the Indiana Hoosiers dribbles the ball ... More against Te-Hina Paopao #0 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half of a second round game in the NCAA Women's basketball tournament on March 23, 2025 in Columbia, South Carolina. The South Carolina Gamecocks won 64-53. (Photo by)
Next, No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 9 Indiana 64-53 in a game that was a tight race until the third quarter. In a third quarter run that saw the Gamecocks outscore the Hoosiers 20-7, Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao had Colonial Life Arena jumping swishing a deep three pointer. Although the leading scorers for South Carolina were Chloe Kitts (10), Sania Feagin (10), and Brea Hall (11), Holly Rowe had a special segment highlighting the importance of SEC second team selection Paopao's leadership and voice for the Gamecocks squad. Despite the loss, Indiana was led by transfers Karoline Striplin, a former Lady Vol who had 11, and Shay Ciezki (formerly of Penn State) with 12 points.
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - MARCH 23: Head coach Kenny Brooks of the Kentucky Wildcats talks with Georgia ... More Amoore #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the second quarter of a game against the Kansas State Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Memorial Coliseum on March 23, 2025 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by)
Perhaps the most exciting games of the day were the four and five seed battles. No. 4 Kentucky fell to No. 5 Kansas State in overtime 80-79 with graduate transfer Georgia Amoore missing a floater final shot to take the win as seconds drained off the clock. Amoore one of the most notable transfers spent her previous four seasons at Virginia Tech before joining Kenny Brooks when he took the helm at Kentucky. Amoore had 18 points in the contest but scored 34 to hold off No. 10 seed Liberty in the opening round of the tournament.
Again, despite the loss, Kentucky was led by fellow Virginia Tech transfer Clara Strack (22 points, eight rebounds), Dazia Lawrence, a transfer from Charlotte (15 points), and Teonni Key, transfer from UNC who had a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. For Kansas State, Temira Poindexter, a transfer from Tulsa had a breakout game scoring 24 points, all of them off three pointers, and led all scorers. This was even more impressive considering Poindexter went 1-for-8 from beyond the arc and only scored seven points in Kansas State's opening game.
WACO, TEXAS - MARCH 23: Head coach Yolett McPhee McCuin of the Ole Miss Rebels speaks to Madison ... More Scott #24 during the Second Round game against the Baylor Bears in the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Foster Pavilion on March 23, 2025 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
In another matchup between No. 4 Baylor and No. 5 Ole Miss, KK Dean a two time transfer previously at West Virginia and Florida before joining Coach Yo's Rebels contributed meaningful minutes and crucial points off the bench to secure the win. Dean made free throws at the end of the game to pull away from the Baylor Bears 69-63. Although the Bears walked away with the loss, Baylor was led all season by transfer center Aaronette Vonleh who previously played at Arizona and Colorado, and guard Jada Walker who transfer from Kentucky. Vonleh was named Big 12 regular season second team but due to her breakout Big 12 tournament performance received all tournament team selection.
FORT WORTH, TX- MARCH 23: Hailey Van Lith #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs handles the ball against the ... More Louisville Cardinals during the first half of a Second Round game of the women's NCAA basketball tournament at Schollmaier Arena on March 23, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by)
Look no further than No. 2 TCU when discussing a team impacted and flourishing due to their transfers, as the Horn Frogs took down Louisville, 85-70. Adding to the storyline, point guard two-time graduate transfer Hailey Van Lith faced off against her former coach Jeff Walz and the Cardinals to reach the Sweet 16. Van Lith finished the game with a double-double, 16 points and 10 assists, but more importantly she spoke after the game about how playing for TCU pulled her away from a dark place. Van Lith's offense was joined by Sedona Prince, a transfer from Oregon who had 19 points, three blocks and four rebounds, Donovyn Hunter, a transfer from Oregon State who had 18 points going a perfect four-for-four from beyond the arc, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu, a transfer from Stanford who led all scorers for the Horn Frogs with 23 points. Senior, Jayda Curry for Louisville scored an astounding 41 points in the loss.
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 23: Jillian Hollingshead #53 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers celebrates ... More with Avery Strickland #13 after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes during a second round game of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Jerome Schottenstein Center on March 23, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. Tennessee defeated Ohio State 82-67 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. (Photo by)
Maybe the only team that can match TCU's transfer energy is No. 5 Tennessee who completely revamped their entire squad under the new leadership of head coach Kim Caldwell. Caldwell, known for an unique style of substituting five players at a time, has seen early success in the portal as 1o of her 15 players are transfers: Jewell Spear (Wake Forest); Ruby Whitehorn (Clemson) ; Samara Spencer (Arkansas); Destinee Wells (Belmont); Zee Spearman (Miami); Avery Strickland (Pitt); Favor Ayodele (Pitt); Alyssa Latham (Syracuse); Jillian Hollingshead (Georgia); and Talaysia Cooper (South Carolina). This hockey style lineup came in handy last night as the No. 5 Lady Vols held off No. 4 Ohio State 82-67. The game was tight until the fourth quarter when it seemed the conditioning and substituting of the Lady Vols wore down the Buckeyes with Tennessee outscoring Ohio State 16-8 in the 4th. Cooper tied Buckeye freshman Jaloni Cambridge with 19 points, but the attack for the Lady Vols was evenly distributed with three additional players in double digits aiding Cooper's scoring.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 23: Lauren Betts #51 of the UCLA Bruins shoots as Addie Budnik #20 ... More of the Richmond Spiders defends in the second half during the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on March 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by)
In the final matchup of the evening between overall No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Richmond, transfer center Lauren Betts took over the game finishing with 30 points and 14 rebounds to pull away from a Spiders squad who kept the game close early, as they were tied with the Bruins 36-36 at the half. Betts was named unanimous Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team, and Big Ten All-Defensive Team, while also being named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player and All-Tournament Team. This is in direct opposition to Betts who only averaged nine minutes a game at Stanford.
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