Eleven Kentuckians (and more) to watch in the 2023 women’s NCAA Tournament
The state of Kentucky was limited to just one school — Louisville — in this year’s 68-team women’s NCAA Tournament field.
But the commonwealth will still have several players with Kentucky ties to root for this time around.
The Cardinals’ roster includes defensive ace Mykasa Robinson, a former Ashland Blazer standout.
Indiana, ranked second in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season, earned a No. 1 seed and relies heavily on former Sacred Heat star Grace Berger.
Central Kentucky is represented by Tennessee Tech’s Maaliya Owens (Scott County) and Tennessee’s Brooklynn Miles (Franklin County).
Here are 11 players to watch (plus three more) with ties to the state of Kentucky:
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Elizabeth Balogun, Duke: The 6-foot-1 senior guard/forward from Lagos, Nigeria, once starred for Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Georgia Tech and Louisville, the first women’s basketball player in ACC history to play for three league teams. This season, she’s averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 46.3% from three-point range for the Blue Devils (25-6). Balogun was the ACC Freshman of the Year for 2018-19 while at Georgia Tech. Louisville won back-to-back ACC regular-season titles during her two-season stay, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2020-21.
Grace Berger, Indiana: The former Sacred Heart star, a 6-0 graduate guard, plays for one of top teams in the field. Berger, a first-team All-Big Ten selection for the fourth straight season, is the second-leading scorer for the Hoosiers (27-3), averaging 12.5 points while shooting 40.0% from three-point range and 74.6% at the free-throw line. She also leads Indiana, the Big Ten’s regular-season champions, in assists (5.8) while contributing 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
The Hoosiers’ regular-season Big Ten title was its first since the 1982-83 season.
“One of the greatest gifts you can give to somebody is belief,” Coach Teri Moren said of Berger afterward. “You have to have belief and five years ago, six years ago maybe, she believed … in this program and she believed in me and the vision, and for that I’ll always be grateful because that’s what it takes.”
Moren added: “I’ve coached some really good players here, but as far as true overall skill, I don’t know that I’ll ever have another opportunity to coach a player like Grace who is just incredible from a skill set.”
Jordan Brock, Tennessee Tech: The 5-7 graduate guard, who starred in high school at Harlan, has started seven of 31 games for Tennessee Tech. She’s sixth on the team in scoring at 6.5 points per game and shoots 87.8% from the free-throw line. Brock averaged 10-plus points per game all four seasons before an ACL injury sidelined her for all of last season. She was first-team All-OVC in 2018-19 and second-team All-OVC in 2020-21. She holds Tennessee Tech’s record for career three-pointers made.
Trinitee Jackson, Oklahoma State: The fifth-year 6-3 forward from Dallas played in high school at Christian County. She was at Arkanasas State for four years before joining the Cowgirls ahead of this season. She averages 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 5.4 minutes per game.
Jazmine Massengill, Florida State: This is the third college stop for the 6-0 graduate guard from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She played two seasons at Tennessee, and then two at Kentucky. She led the SEC and was eighth nationally with a 2.76 assist/turnover ratio at UK in 2021-22. Now a starter with the Seminoles, she averages 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists and shoots 37.0% from three-point range.
Brooklynn Miles, Tennessee: The 2021 Kentucky Miss Basketball out of Franklin County averages 7.5 minutes, 0.8 minutes, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists as a reserve for the Vols. The 5-7 sophomore guard got a bit more playing time as a freshman, when she averaged 19.5 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 steals.
Maaliya Owens, Tennessee Tech: Former Scott County star Maaliya Owens plays a leading role for Tennessee Tech, the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions. The 5-9 senior guard leads the Golden Eagles (22-9) in scoring (14.7 points per game) to go with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Owens, who was voted first-team All-OVC, shoots 40.7% from three-point range (83-for-204) and 85.0% from the free-throw line. She made nine of 12 three-point attempts in a win against Southern Indiana on Feb. 9. She has connected on at least four three-point attempts in 10 games this season.
“I’ve been here for four years and it’s awesome to see the work I’ve put in pay off,” Owens said ahead of her Senior Day game. “It’s not for nothing. You have to wait your turn and I understand that. I’ve always tried to be ready for when my number was called. This year, it’s really worked out for me.”
“She has become one of the most dynamic scorers in our league, but what the stats don’t tell is how she has embraced her role as one of our top defenders. I’m amazed nightly by how hard Maaliya plays,” Coach Kim Rosamond said ahead of the team’s Senior Day. “She never looks tired, and she is a leader for us on both ends of the floor.”
Ramani Parker, Mississippi State: The 6-4 junior forward from Fresno, California, is a Louisville transfer who has played in 19 of the Bulldogs’ 30 games, averaging 16.2 minutes, 4.9 points and 4.3 rebounds. She shoots 39.1% from long range.
Mykasa Robinson, Louisville: The 5-7 graduate guard out of Ashland Blazer was an ACC All-Defensive Team selection for the third straight season and was named to the league’s all-tournament team this season. Robinson has grabbed at least eight rebounds in six straight games, and her season averages include 5.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 82.6% from the free-throw line.
“She always plays hard,” Louisville Coach Jeff Walz said in a report by WDRB in early February. “I mean, nobody’s going to question if Mykasa’s going to come out and give you everything she’s got. She guards one through four. She’ll guard a five if she has to.”
Robinson told WDRB: “Yes, defense has always been something I’ve taken great pride in. My dad instilled that in me from a young age. ‘If you’re going to give up more points than you score, then why are you on the court,’ my dad would tell me. So I really took a lot of pride in that.”
Ahlana Smith, Mississippi State: The 5-9 graduate guard from Charlotte, North Carolina, has previously played at UCLA, Gulf Coast State (where she was the Division I junior college player of the year in 2019-20) and Louisville. She is the Bulldogs’ third-leading scorer at 9.7 points per game to go with 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Savannah Wheeler, Middle Tennessee: The 2019 Kentucky Miss Basketball out of Boyd County played three seasons at Marshall before moving on to the Conference USA Tournament champion Blue Raiders (28-4). The 5-6 junior guard, a first-team all-C-USA selection, averages 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 87.4% from the free-throw line and 31.6% from three-point range. While at Marshall, she was first-team all-C-USA in 2021-22 and second-team all-C-USA in 2020-21.
THROUGH THE FIELD
Dre’Una Edwards, Baylor: The 6-0 senior forward from Las Vegas had to sit out the 2022-23 season after transferring from Kentucky, where she helped lead the Wildcats to a surprise run to the 2022 SEC Tournament championship. Edwards played one season at Utah before landing at UK. She has averaged 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds over three seasons on the court.
Harley Paynter, Tennessee Tech: The 5-8 sophomore guard played in high school at Boyd County. She is redshirting this season.
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma: The 6-1 sophomore forward from De Soto, Kansas, appeared in eight games for Louisville this season — averaging 6.4 points and 15.0 minutes — before deciding to transfer in December. She won’t be able to play for the Sooners until next season. Verhulst was an ACC All-Freshman selection and averaged 3.3 points in the Cardinals’ run to the Final Four in 2021-22.
2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament TV schedule, channel guide
Here is the schedule and a printable bracket for the 2023 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Fifteen Kentuckians (and more) to watch in the 2023 NCAA Tournament
2023 Men’s NCAA Tournament TV schedule, channel guide
Here is the schedule and a printable bracket for the 2023 men’s NCAA basketball tournament
