With the hype behind the Golden State Valkyries swelling, women’s basketball has found a new home in the Bay Area. This Friday, Dec. 20, some of the nation’s top college teams will travel to Chase Center in San Francisco for the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic.
No. 11 Ohio State vs. Stanford
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Ohio State and Stanford, two teams that held No. 2 seeds in last year’s NCAA Tournament, look different this season. Both programs lost their top players to the 2024 WNBA Draft and had to rebuild scoring hierarchies. Stanford also is discovering a new life in the ACC following the Pac-12’s dismantlement. The Cardinal’s conference debut was disappointing, a loss to a fellow former Pac-12 team in Cal.
Two of the Buckeye’s top three scorers are newcomers: Oregon transfer Chance Gray and freshman Jaloni Cambridge. Although its early in the season, Gray is honing in on a chance at Big Ten honors. She’s up to 17 points per game on the year, shooting the second-most 3s in the conference at the second-highest clip (44.9 percent). That kind of volume at that kind of efficiency is unheard of. Ohio State remains undefeated on the season, but haven’t played an impressive schedule. A nine-point win over 9-2 Illinois is the only slightly meaningful win on their mantel.
At 8-3, Stanford hasn’t shown anything to suggest a booming season, but their singular game against a ranked opponent may be their most promising result. They weren’t able to squeeze a win out of No. 5 LSU, but they took the undefeated Lady Tigers to overtime in Louisiana. If they could hang with Kim Mulkey’s crew, they can definitely hang with the Buckeyes.
Sophomore forward Nunu Agara is turning heads for the Cardinal. After zero starts in her freshman season, she’s inherited much of departed star Cameron Brink’s usage—and she’s making the most of it. Agara is averaging 17.4 points per game, more than triple her freshman year mark of 5.4. She’s shooting over 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from distance. Agara, who hails from Hopkins High School in Minnesota (famously the alma matter of UConn’s Paige Bueckers), will be a name to watch for WNBA scouts in the coming years.
Creighton vs. No. 1 UCLA
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For years, South Carolina has coasted through the regular season as the most-feared program in the country. When UCLA snapped the Gamecocks 43-game win streak in late November, they didn’t just humanize Dawn Staley’s squad. They became the feared.
There isn’t a single program in the country who wants to walk into an arena opposite the Bruins. There isn’t a single player in the country who looks forward to guarding Kiki Rice or Lauren Betts. There’s no such thing as comfort when you’re playing UCLA. Behind the interior presence of the 6-foot-7 Betts, the Bruins are hands down the best defensive team in the country. They’re only allowing 52 points per game to their opponents, while scoring 84.
Creighton deserves to be happy with their 9-2 record. It will be 9-3 after Friday. Playing a perfect game isn’t enough for the Bluejays to dethrone the Bruins. They need a Christmas miracle, and UCLA has been leaving coal in stockings all year. The Bluejays’ mid-November matchup with No. 13 Kansas State is most comparable to their outlook on Friday. Just like UCLA and Betts, K-State anchors around their dominant center in Ayoka Lee. The Wildcats, like the Bruins, also champion a cohesive supporting cast. Creighton actually played a solid game against Kansas State, only committing nine turnovers and shooting 37 percent from 3. However, they lost by 18.
There’s a point where pure talent and momentum eclipses willpower, and Creighton may not see the sun against UCLA. If they do, the college basketball world will certainly be in shock. Chances like that make any matchup worth watching.
Game information
No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) vs. Stanford Cardinal (8-3)
When: Friday, Dec. 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Chase Center in San Francisco, CA
How to watch: FS1
Creighton Bluejays (9-2) vs. No. 1 UCLA Bruins (11-0)
When: Friday, Dec. 20 at 11 p.m. ET
Where: Chase Center in San Francisco, CA
How to watch: FS1
