Player of the week: Skylar Diggins
After a heartbreaking loss in the final minute to the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies, Diggins and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rebounded with three straight wins. In those three wins, including an 80-58 thrashing of the No. 16 Georgetown Hoyas, Diggins averaged 18 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. She also shot 50 percent from the field (16-of-32) and 85.7 percent from the free throw line (18-of-21). Diggins’ confidence should continue to rise as the Fighting Irish will not see a ranked opponent until they travel to Connecticut on Feb. 19.
Team of the week: Connecticut rebounds in a big way
Since heading to Stanford and being defeated for the first time in 91 games, the Connecticut Huskies sure look like a team that forgot about the hiccup. This week, Connecticut won all three of its games going away. The No. 2 team in the nation won those games by a combined score of 245-164, an average winning margin of 27 points.
One of those games was an 83-57 win over the No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, while the Jan. 12 win over St. John’s was coach Geno Auriemma’s 750th win. The game was played in Madison Square Garden, a place Auriemma said holds a lot of history for him.
“I always look forward to coming here,” Auriemma told ESPN.com. “You always are excited to be in this building. The lights go on, it’s just different, different than any other place.”
The wins this week put the Huskies at 6-0 in Big East play, making them just one of three remaining teams without a blemish on their Big East record. One of those three teams, Rutgers, will host the Huskies next Wednesday.
Unsurprisingly, it was Maya Moore who led the charge this week. In the past two games, Moore averaged 23.5 points on 60 percent shooting, six rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals. Moore also moved into 35th place on the NCAA all-time scoring list this week.
As it usually is for a Connecticut team, the schedule does not get any easier. In addition to its remaining conference games, the Huskies still have dates with the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils and No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners.
Game of the week: West Virginia at Georgetown, Jan. 25
Both the Mountaineers and Hoyas were expected to contend in the Big East this season, but the teams are heading in different directions as conference play heats up.
For West Virginia, the name of the game has been defense. The Mountaineers are surrendering just 48.3 points per game, best in the nation. Senior forward Madina Ali has led the way in the paint for the Mountaineers, averaging 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. In a win over Syracuse Saturday afternoon, Ali went for 32 points and 10 rebounds to help West Virginia extend its home winning streak to a record 29 games.
As good as they have been at home, the Mountaineers will have to rebound from their first loss of the year, a 69-54 defeat at Marquette.
Standing in their way will be the Georgetown Hoyas, who have struggled as of late, losing two of its last three games in conference. If the Hoyas are to get back on track, it will need continued production from sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers. The second-leading scorer in the Big East has averaged 18 points per game this season while also locking down on defense, averaging 2.3 steals.
Last season, the Mountaineers took down the Hoyas in Morgantown 55-46 on Feb 14.