WBB Wraparound: Tournament rematches, freshmen phenoms, and transfer standouts

Welcome back to the Wraparound! Now that the women's basketball college season is off and running, we are bringing back the column. Check us out every Thursday as we take you around the NCAAW, highlighting the biggest stories, games to watch, and players that impressed us.

3 highlights from College Basketball this week:

South Carolina and NC State deliver Final Four rematch: If you watched the 2024 March Madness tournament, then you may remember the thrilling Final Four game between South Carolina and NC State. Natural rivals due to the Carolina Connection, NC State was the underdog as the Gamecocks attempted to complete an undefeated season. NC State didn't make it easy, and the game was close until the fourth quarter. Last week, a rematch was set as these two teams faced off at Ally Tipoff in Charlotte.

With a few missing pieces from their championship roster and missing Chloe Kitts, South Carolina could have folded under the pressure. It was a close first half, but the Gamecocks rallied at halftime to pull away in the second half, winning 71-57. In our opinion, NC State didn't take nearly enough advantage of Saniya Rivers' ability to get a bucket, but they played a tough game. It's always a fun game between these two teams.

Oregon upsets Baylor in a close game: No. 17 Baylor has unfortunately suffered some injuries to start the season. The team announced Jana Van Gytenbeek will miss the entire season after tearing her ACL in the team's season opener. Oregon on the other hand has suffered a few hardships over the years, honestly starting from when they were the championship favorites in 2020, before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. They seem to have some renewed spirit to start this season though, delivering the year's first BIG upset from an unranked team over a ranked opponent.

Deja Kelly led scorers with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to help the Ducks secure a 2-point victory over Baylor, 76-74. Despite a 24-point performance from Baylor's Jada Walker and 19 points from Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor couldn't close out. One thing that we love in a college game, especially in a ranked vs unranked match? A close score in the clutch.

Syla Swords is HOOPING in Ann Arbor: Wraparound readers, meet Syla Swords. This writer, who types these columns from little ol' Toronto, Canada, has been on the Swords bandwagon for a while. The Canadian may have just started her freshman season at Michigan, but she's been hooping with the best for over a year now. While playing her senior season at Long Island Lutheran, becoming a McDonald's All-American and New York Gatorade Player of the Year, Swords also joined the Canadian Senior Women's Team for Olympic Qualifiers in Colombia and Hungary. She was then named to the Olympic roster, and became an Olympian fresh out of high school. She played real minutes in Paris, proving she could keep up with older players.

When Syla finally touched down in Ann Arbor to start her NCAA career, she wowed fans with a 27-point, 12-rebound, 2-assist, 1-steal performance. To follow that up, Swords scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in Michigan's win over Lehigh. These efforts won Swords Big 10 Conference Freshman of the Week honors.

2 games to watch this week:

No. 2 UConn vs No. 14 North Carolina: Friday, Nov. 15, 6:00 p.m. ET

There have been few games so far this NCAAW season between two highly ranked teams, and this one is going to be a good one. No. 2 UConn saw a lot of changeover over the summer, with Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards leaving for the WNBA draft, but Paige Buckers decided to stay. That alone makes them a contender for a National Championship. They also got Kaitlyn Chen out of the transfer portal and recruited the no.1 high school prospect in Sarah Strong. The Huskies are 2-0 in non-conference play and would like to add a win against a ranked opponent to that list of accomplishments.

No.14 North Carolina is currently 3-0 in non-conference play but also has yet to play another ranked opponent. Lexi Donarski is currently leading them with 15 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and playing 29 minutes per game for the Tar Heels. While the underdogs in this match-up, the Tar Heels have a few more experienced players on their roster than UConn does and could use that to their advantage.

No. 13 NC State vs TCU: Sunday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. ET

There are big stakes on both sides for this game. For no. 13 NC State, they would love to improve to a 2-1 record after losing to South Carolina last week. For TCU, this will be their first big test after acquiring Hailey Van Lith out of the transfer portal from LSU. Van Lith started her NCAA career at Louisville before transferring to LSU, but her season fell a little flat after she spent most of the season playing out of the position she was most comfortable in. Now at TCU, she is trying to boost her draft stock before the 2025 WNBA draft. TCU beat Texas State 90-31 in their last game, and Van Lith is leading the team in assists (7.3 per game) and steals (3.0 per game). She's averaging 17 points per game. TCU's other big transfer portal grab was Donovyn Hunter, who is averaging 8.7 points per game in TCU's three wins so far this season.

This weekend's game will be a test for both sides. Can NC State, can they handle a team with strong scorers and uphold their ranking? For TCU, can they keep up with ranked teams as they attempt to make a deep tournament run this season? It will be a fun game for sure.

1 player that impressed us this week: Reagan Beers, Oklahoma

Crowned the season's first AP player of the week, Reagan Beers is settling into her new digs in Oklahoma quite well. The 6-foot-4 center transferred to the Sooners from Oregon State, where she averaged 17.5 points per game last season.

Coming to Oklahoma, Beers hopes to add a few new tricks to her bag, including shooting from distance and operating all over the court. In the Sooners' first three games, Beers averaged 24.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 assists. She is shooting 75.6 percent from the field and has even made a 3-point shot.

As no.9 Oklahoma hopes to make a splash in the NCAAW this season, picking up Beers out of the transfer portal was a huge step in becoming a force. Especially as the school enters the SEC, where the gameplay is physical and post-play is highly valued.

Especially coming from a player learning a new system at a new school, Reagan Beers has had an excellent start to her season.