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Now that the WNBA season and the FIBA World Cup are over, all of the Team USA players are headed to their overseas teams and other offseason commitments. Although it won’t be easy to watch these particular players again until the WNBA season restarts in May 2019, allow us to propose a solution in the meantime: root for their college teams!
With college hoops right around the corner and practices having started across the country, here’s a little about each Team USA player’s alma mater:
Baylor University
Team USA player: Brittney Griner (‘13)
Conference: Big 12
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Sweet Sixteen (2018)
Best NCAA finish: National champions (2005, 2012)
Fun fact: In 2012 (Griner’s junior season), Baylor became the first NCAA Division I team, men’s or women’s, to earn a 40-0 record. The NCAA Tournament saw them outscore their opponents by an average of 20.8 points per game.
First Day Views #SicEm pic.twitter.com/ap1VxskatY
— Baylor Lady Bears (@BaylorWBB) October 1, 2018
Stanford University
Team USA player: Nneka Ogwumike (‘12)
Conference: Pac-12
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Sweet Sixteen (2018)
Best NCAA finish: National champions (1990, 1992)
Fun fact: Stanford has made 31 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, second only to Tennessee’s 37 (the number of years the women’s tournament has taken place). They also have the distinction of being the first-ever one-seed to fall to a 16-seed, losing to Harvard in the first round in 1998.
"If you're in the gym, be in the gym."#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/DXPmXp21Rs
— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) September 28, 2018
University of California–Berkeley
Team USA player: Layshia Clarendon (‘13)
Conference: Pac-12
Last postseason appearance: NCAA First Round (2018)
Best NCAA finish: Final Four (2013)
Fun fact: Clarendon’s senior season saw the Golden Bears make their first-ever NCAA Final Four, during which they compiled a 32-4 record (and went 17-1 in the stacked Pac-12). Cal is also the 2010 WNIT (Women’s National Invitation Tournament) champion.
You’re invited!
— Cal Basketball (@CalWBBall) October 3, 2018
Come join us on October 20 for our annual Open Practice and Tip-Off Event. Practice, dancing, and fun for all! pic.twitter.com/6SAZRKLYAB
University of Connecticut
Team USA players: Sue Bird (‘02), Diana Taurasi (‘04), Tina Charles (‘10), Breanna Stewart (‘16), Morgan Tuck (‘16)
Conference: AAC
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Final Four (2018)
Best NCAA finish: National champion 11 times (most recently in 2016)
Fun fact: Not only have 23 UConn players been selected in the first round of the WNBA draft, the 2016 draft was the first time any school in any major sport saw three of its players — Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck — go 1-2-3 in a professional draft.
First time in a UConn uniform #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/TGzazFYWsi
— UConn Women's Hoops (@UConnWBB) October 4, 2018
University of Delaware
Team USA player: Elena Delle Donne (‘13)
Conference: CAA
Last postseason appearance: WNIT First Round (2018)
Best NCAA finish: Sweet Sixteen (2013)
Fun fact: Elena Delle Donne — once a UConn commit — put this team on the map, leading the Fightin’ Blue Hens to two straight undefeated CAA seasons and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win, culminating in a Sweet Sixteen appearance her senior year.
We're bacckkkk!#BlueHens pic.twitter.com/62NASS58NX
— Delaware WBB (@DelawareWBB) September 28, 2018
University of Notre Dame
Team USA player: Jewell Loyd (‘15)
Conference: ACC
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Championship (2018)
Best NCAA finish: National champion (2001, 2018)
Fun fact: Not only are the Fighting Irish the defending national champion, senior Arike Ogunbowale’s game-winning shot to win the title was immortalized by the Notre Dame marching band in the Sept. 29 football halftime show:
Personally our favorite halftime show #EasterBasket #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/szGd9zdRmK
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) September 30, 2018
University of South Carolina
Team USA player: A’ja Wilson (‘18)
Conference: SEC
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Elite Eight (2018)
Best NCAA finish: National champion (2017)
Fun fact: South Carolina has led the nation in per-game home attendance since the 2014-15 season, when it ended Tennessee’s 11-year reign. (This was also Wilson’s freshman season, where she averaged 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.) Plus: Team USA Head Coach Dawn Staley is also the South Carolina head coach.
Halfway through Day 1! #Gamecocks bringing it early for 2018-19. @dawnstaley pic.twitter.com/l3gNJcXig9
— GamecockWBB (@GamecockWBB) October 4, 2018
University of Washington
Team USA player: Kelsey Plum (‘17)
Conference: Pac-12
Last postseason appearance: NCAA Sweet Sixteen (2017)
Best NCAA finish: NCAA Final Four (2016)
Fun fact: Not only did Plum lead the Huskies to their first-ever Final Four appearance in 2016, she also holds the women’s NCAA records in career points at 3,527 (good for No. 2 all-time when combining men and women) and points in a season at 1,109.
Washington Women's Basketball is back!
— Washington Women’s Basketball (@UW_WBB) October 2, 2018
First Official Practice ✅#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/nNGxaC8VCY