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Women's college basketball 2023-24 preview: Stanford, Ole Miss among sleeper Final Four contenders – CBS Sports
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The 2023-24 season hasn’t started yet, but it’s never too early to start talking about the NCAA Tournament. While there is a consensus about some obvious favorites to make the Final Four, there are other teams with potential to make deep runs in March.
All eyes are on LSU, UConn and Iowa, but plenty of people still believe in Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team even without Aliyah Boston. Meanwhile, coach Cori Close has the UCLA Bruins looking solid with key returners and the addition of former No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts.
But this list is made up of teams who don’t have quite the same hype and are either looking to build on their success from last season or redeem themselves. Here are four sleeper teams who could be earning a trip to Cleveland for the final weekend of the season.
The reigning ACC champs are fresh off their first Final Four appearance in program history and have a solid chance at returning this season. One of the main reasons is the return of two-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley, who led the team in 2022-23 with 12.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest. She was also one of nation’s top shot blockers with a total of 84 rejections over 35 games.
The other key returner is point guard Georgia Amoore, who averaged 16.3 points per contest and registered the program’s first ever triple-double last December. Amoore was named the ACC tournament MVP a few months later. Cayla King returning for a fifth season is also quite beneficial as she is the team’s 3-point specialist. The Hokies added another threat from deep in Michigan State transfer Matilda Ekh, who was one of the Big Ten’s top 3-point shooters.
It feels strange to consider Tara VanDerveer’s squad an under-the-radar team, but last season Stanford missed the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007 and lost one of their star players as Haley Jones went to the WNBA. The Cardinal are starting the 2023-24 campaign as the No. 15 team in the AP Top 25 poll, their lowest ranking since 2015.
However, the Cardinal are still in a great spot with the return of WBCA Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Brink, one of the nation’s best shot blockers, who also led the team in scoring and rebounding last season. Fifth-year guard Hannah Jump, a knockdown 3-point shooter, is expected to be a big contributor as well. VanDerveer expects to go 10 deep this season, which means players like Talana Lepolo, Kiki Iriafen and Brooke Demetre will have to embrace bigger roles.
Indiana went 28-4 last season and earned a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but that run ended in the second round with a loss to Miami. Fortunately for the Hoosiers, they practically get a redo. They are returning five of the six players who averaged at least 9.5 points last season, a group that helped Indiana become the second best offense in the nation at 84.2 points per contest.
All-American MacKenzie Holmes was one of the nation’s top scorers last season, averaging 22.3 points at a 68% clip, while also contributing 7.3 rebounds per game. Holmes has plenty of other good scorers around her in Yarden Garzon, Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil, who all shot at least 44% from the field a season ago. In 2022-23, Garzon set an Indiana freshman record with 70 made 3-pointers, and she converted 45.8% of her shots from beyond the arc. She is listed as a guard, but with a height of 6-foot-3, Garzon will also be helpful in the post. Garzon recently made the preseason watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award, which is given to the nation’s most outstanding small forward.
Ole Miss is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1995. They earned the No. 12 spot after reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years by upsetting Stanford in the Round of 32. Rebels coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin gets to keep SEC All-Defensive Team selection Madison Scott, who averaged 11.6 points and eight rebounds per contest last season.
Other returners from that core group include Marquesha Davis and Snudda Collins, who averaged 10.5 and 8.9 points per game, respectively. But what also makes this roster stronger, even after losing Angel Baker, is the addition of North Carolina transfer Kennedy Todd-Williams — the Tar Heels’ second-leading scorer a season ago — and Auburn transfer Kharyssa Richardson.
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