5 mid-major women's college basketball sleepers for the 2022-23 season

5 mid-major women’s college basketball teams that can make serious noise

Belmont forward Madison Bartley (3) attempts a shot during a second round NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship game between No. 4 Tennessee and No. 12 Belmont at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. on Monday, March 21, 2022.Kns Ncaa Lady Vols Belmont /

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BLOOMINGTON, UNITED STATES – 2022/03/19: Princeton Tigers guard Kaitlyn Chen (20) plays against Kentucky Wildcats guard Jada Walker (11) during round 1 of the NCAA 2022 Division 1 Womenâ€™s Basketball Championship, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Princeton beat Kentucky 69-62. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

4. Princeton (AP No. 24)

Last year, Princeton upset Rhyne Howard’s Kentucky team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, then followed that up by just barely falling against Indiana in the next round, losing 56-55.

Princeton was undefeated in conference play last year and boasted the fourth-best scoring defense in Division I, allowing just 51.5 points per game. Ellie Mitchell, who was just a sophomore, was a big part of that defensive effort, pulling down 10.4 rebounds per game and swiping 2.4 steals per contest, both numbers that ranked in the top-50 nationally. The team will need to replace leading scorer Abby Meyers, but players like Julia Cunningham and Kaitlyn Chen should step up to replace her production.