Takeaways from women's college basketball opening day

Opening day of women’s college basketball did not disappoint. If you couldn’t catch everything or just need a refresher, here are some takeaways.

1. Baylor is legit

I underestimated Baylor and I’ll be the first one to admit it. That’s on me. Auburn transfer Taliah Scott was incredible in the Bears’ win over Duke in Paris yesterday. She’s the scoring threat they needed to complement their excess of length and depth. In their 58-52 victory, Scott scored 24 points, grabbed five boards and dished out three assists.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added a double-double en route to the win. The Bears will certainly make an appearance in On3’s Top 25 next week.

2. Brooklyn Meyer is a star

If you didn’t already know her name, I sure hope you do now. South Dakota State took down Creighton in one of my favorite recurring matchups. Senior forward Brooklyn Meyer, who has spent her whole career with the Jackrabbits, absolutely went off.

Meyer had 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and a steal. Just a casual day at work, right?

3. Oklahoma is very good, but so is Belmont!

This is one of those times where you roll your eyes when someone says “the score doesn’t tell the whole story.” But really, it doesn’t. This game was extremely competitive until about midway through the fourth quarter. But the Sooners came out on top in an 84-67 victory.

For Oklahoma, it was freshman Aaliyah Chavez’s debut and it was a fun one. She had 16 points (5/18 from the field), alongside six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. While she couldn’t get hot from the perimeter, it was an impressive 37-minute debut. Raegan Beers, one of the best post players in the nation, scored 29 points and grabbed 10 boards in the win.

4. A couple upsets and close calls

While there weren’t many high-profile upsets, there were certainly a few surprising results. Here are a couple of scores that may make you bat an eye.

Upsets:

Arkansas Pine-Bluff 69, Memphis 64

Holy Cross 72, Boston College 71

West Alabama 62, UAB 59

Close calls:

Auburn 71, Charlotte 58 in overtime

Alabama 82, Stetson 73

Wake Forest 71, Radford 64

Key stat lines

Here are some of the best performers that you may not have heard about. These won’t be the ones you saw clipped on social media from big-time games.

Iowa’s Ava Heiden: 21 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Oklahoma State’s Amari Whiting: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

Oklahoma State’s Haleigh Timmer: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 4/8 from deep

Kentucky’s Clara Strack: 15 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks

Clemson’s Rusne Augustinaite: 19 points, 4/6 from deep

Arkansas Pine-Bluff’s Indiya Bowen: 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 3/5 from deep

Nebraska’s Claire Johnson: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2/3 from deep

Idaho’s Kyra Gardner: 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals

LIU’s Kadidia Toure: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks

Penn State’s Kiyomi McMiller: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals

James Madison’s Peyton McDaniel: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals

Cleveland State’s Colbi Maples: 29 points, 4 assists

Kansas State’s Taryn Sides: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals

Mississippi State’s Destiney McPhaul: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals