Ontarians in the Women’s Madness
After touching on the men’s division, we turn our focus to the women’s bracket which begins on Friday. A lot of Ontario content is featured in the bracket in pursuit of the NCAA Women’s National Championship. Take a look at our primer and stay tuned to see how the different players do throughout the tournament!
Kia Nurse, Guard from Connecticut University
6’0” guard from Hamilton, Ontario
Connecticut Huskies 2017-18 season: 36-0, 16-0 in conference play
Season stats: 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists in 32.5 minutes per game
Last game: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist in 94-65 win vs. South Carolina
Bio: Another incredible season is in the books for the Huskies, and Nurse and the rest of her teammates are getting ready for another trip to the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed in the bracket once again. Nurse is in the midst of her final season in college and wrapped it up nicely with just under 14 points a game, and being named an Academic All-American for the second consecutive season. Nurse also became the first Canadian to be nominated for the Nancy Lieberman award, which is given to the best point guard in women’s college basketball. The Huskies continued their dominant run this season, in large part to 15 points and 10 rebounds from Nurse, as they coasted to a 140-52 victory over St. Francis in the first round. They then followed that up with wins over Quinnipiac, Duke and most recently South Carolina to earn a spot back in the Final Four, a heavy favourite to once again win the National Championship. The Huskies are getting ready for their Final Four matchup against Notre Dame on March 30.
Next game: March 30 against #1 Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament
Shaina Pellington, Guard from Oklahoma University
5’7” from Pickering, Ontario
Oklahoma Sooners 2017-18 season: 16-15, 11-7 in conference play
Season stats: 13.1 points, 2.2 assists, 2.6 rebounds in 33 minutes per game
Last game: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists in 90-79 loss vs. DePaul
Bio: Pellington has been one of the country’s outstanding freshman this season, working her way right into the Oklahoma starting lineup early and not relinquishing her spot. She was also recently named the Ontario Basketball Player of the Week after she was announced as the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year. The graduate of the OSBA from Durham Elite has been a top performer for the Sooners this season. It was unfortunately an early exit for the Sooners in the tournament this year, even with Pellington pouring in 14 points, they couldn’t overcome DePaul, losing 90-79 in the first round.
Next game: Eliminated from the NCAA Tournament 90-79 in the first round by #5 DePaul.
Alyssa Jerome, Forward from Stanford University
6’2” from Toronto, Ontario
Stanford Cardinal 2017-18 season: 24-10, 14-3 in conference play
Season stats: 2.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 10.4 minutes per game
Last game: 2 points in 90-70 victory vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Bio: Jerome is in her first season of NCAA collegiate basketball after her graduation from Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto last year. She has represented Canada multiple times in her early basketball career, competing in four FIBA tournaments around the world. She was the team captain of Canada’s bronze medal effort at the U19 World Cup in 2017, averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds per game. Her best performances came at the U18 FIBA Americas in 2016 where she averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds per game while helping lead Canada to a silver medal. She still has room to grow into her role at Stanford and only being a freshman means you will see her with an increased role down the road. Stanford opened up their NCAA Tournament with an 82-68 victory in the first round vs. Gonzaga, and followed that up with a 90-70 victory over Florida Gulf Coast in the second round. Their season unfortunately came to an end with an 86-59 loss to Louisville in the Sweet 16.
Next game: Eliminated from the NCAA Tournament 86-59 in the Sweet 16 by #1 Louisville.
Honorable bonus:
Hanna Hall, Guard from Buffalo University (Hamilton, Ontario)
- Eliminated by #2 South Carolina 79-63 in the Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
Shantelle Valentine, Center from Marquette University (Brampton, Ontario)
- Eliminated by #1 seed Louisville 90-72 in the second round of NCAA Tournament
Hailey Brown, Forward from Michigan University (Hamilton, Ontario)
- Eliminated by #2 seed Baylor 80-58 in the second round of NCAA Tournament