Question 5: What’s your favorite women’s basketball memory of 2017?
Potkey- I am sure many others are going to name Morgan William’s shot to dethrone mighty UConn and end the Huskies’ 111-game streak as the favorite memory, so I’ll go another way for variety. I enjoyed watching Washington guard Kelsey Plum break the NCAA scoring record by scoring 57 points in a win over Utah on Senior Day. The crafty lefty needed 54 points to surpass Jackie Stiles, and she decided not to wait while thrilling the hometown crowd. Plum finished 19 of 28 from the field and scored 19 of Washington’s final 22 points in her trademark multi-dimensional style. Even an illness couldn’t slow Plum as she ate applesauce on the bench during timeouts to help fuel her record-breaking output. In the aftermath, Plum spread the credit around to her coaches, teammates, parents, siblings, trainers, doctors and the university.
Megdal- I mean, Morgan William’s shot, the whole game really, is the most wonderful sporting event I ever covered. And I doubt anything will ever top it.
Dull- Game 5 of the Finals. We’ve been spoiled with this unbelievable matchup between the Sparks and the Lynx for two seasons in a row. The matchup brings a little bit of everything to the table, including the three best players in the league.
The rest of the W is chasing these two teams just as the entire NBA is chasing the Warriors and LeBron. It would only be fair that we get a part III in 2018, but the teams coming up are filled with promise, too.
DuDonis- ‘The Shot’ is certainly the greatest, single moment I’ve ever experienced in my life. Being there in person made it ever more dreamlike. That said, it was Morgan William’s performance the game prior that I’ll never forget. Going up against a Baylor team that most everyone had written into the Final Four already, William dropped 41 points while making six three pointers to will the Bulldogs to an overtime win. Four of the three-pointers came off the exact same play with Williams running baseline off of a double-staggered screen that, inexplicably, Baylor never adjusted to. After the win, William broke down on camera as it was revealed that her father had passed away almost three years to the day. “This is for him”, William said through tears. I still get goosebumps just typing this.