![]() Point guard Jasmine Powell (Minnesota), forwards Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State) and Jasmine Franklin (Missouri State) and 6-5 center Jillian Hollingshead (Georgia) would start for many teams in the country, but with 6-5 Tamari Key and Jordan Horston already in place in Knoxville, it means Harper has considerable lineup flexibility. Kellie Harper nearly acquired an entire starting lineup in the transfer portal. The arrival of 6-4 Taylor Jones from Oregon State to play alongside forwards Aaliyah Moore and DeYona Gaston gives Schaefer several lineup options and the talent to challenge for a national title. Then the portal brought grad transfers Gonzales from BYU and Sonya Morris from DePaul - and suddenly the Longhorns have the most intriguing backcourt in the country. In Rori Harmon, Schaefer has a point guard to build around and a star in the making. After trips to the Elite Eight in his first two seasons in Austin, the first Final Four for the program since 2004 seems close. Much like his teams at Mississippi State, Vic Schaefer's Texas clubs just keep getting better. Adding 6-7 Lauren Betts, the nation's top recruit, to play alongside the 6-4 Brink makes the interior defense of the Cardinal that much more imposing. When Tara VanDerveer can fill out her multiple rotations with the experience of seniors Fran Belibi, Hannah Jump and Ashten Prechtel, and the talent of 6-3 sophomores Kiki Iriafen and Brooke Demetre, Stanford remains a national title contender. In Haley Jones, one of the sport's most versatile performers, and Cameron Brink, one of its most intimidating, the Cardinal could have two of the best five players in the country. But Stanford has something the Gamecocks don't: two preseason All-Americans. 20 meeting at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal could be chasing South Carolina all season again. Victaria Saxton, a 6-foot-2 forward, is back for a fifth year, giving Boston just a little more help as she goes for a second straight national player of the year award.ĭepending on the outcome of their Nov. 2 recruit in the country who should return from a knee injury that cost her all but two games in 2021-22. Another option at the point is Raven Johnson, last year's No. Bringing in Kierra Fletcher as a grad transfer from Georgia Tech to replace Destanni Henderson at point guard fills the only hole for a team that went wire-to-wire as the nation's No. Now they are again favored to do all those things one more time. The core of Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere has led the Gamecocks to two SEC regular-season championships, a pair of SEC tournament titles, two Final Fours and the 2022 national championship. This is the kind of success Dawn Staley must have envisioned when she landed the country's top recruiting class in 2019.
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