WB2K23: Opening Night 5

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Tonight is the opening night of the season for NCAA women's basketball. Enjoy a peak of some of the games and players to watch as we await the tip-off the 2022-23 season.

Utah Tech at Washington

Washington's Lauren Schwartz is an interesting player to watch during the 2022-23. The more than capable scorer has shot 45.7 percent overall, 39.1 percent from three and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line during her first three collegiate seasons. Her first two seasons were at Rice, where she her best offensive campaign in 2020-21. During her sophomore year at Rice she averaged 13.1 points on 50.6 percent shooting. She also shot 42 percent from three and 85 percent from the free-throw line. Last season at Washington she averaged 10.3 points, while still shooting an impressive 89.5 percent from the free-throw line and a solid 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. She had seven games with 16 or more points for the Huskies.

After two seasons that ended prematurely, Breaunna Gillen had her first full collegiate season at Utah Tech. The 5-9 guard from West Jordan, Utah only competed in four games during her first two seasons. During the 2021-22 season she started and played in all of her 29 appearances, where she averaged 15.2 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds. She scored 20 points or more in six games, including a 20-point effort in a win against New Mexico State. In that contest she connected on seven of her eight shot attempts. Gillen had two games with two or more assists. In the season opener against Life Pacific, she dropped a season's best 11 dimes.

Loyola Marymount at Washington State

Forward Alexis Mark led Loyola Marymount last season with an average of eight rebounds per contest. The six-foot junior from Chatsworth, California posted five double-doubles in her first season at Loyola Marymount. She began her collegiate career at Boise State during the 2020-21 season. Last season she averaged 9.6 points per game. In the first-round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, Mark scored 20 points and hauled down nine boards to go along with four assists in a win over Pepperdine. In the previous game, she scored a season high 21 points on the road against Gonzaga.

A native of Butare, Rwanda, Bella Murekatete is a 6-3 center for the Washington State Cougars. A strong defender, Murekatete blocked 1.7 shots and stole the ball 1.4 times per game. She blocked five shots against Northern Arizona which was her best performance of the season. In that win she also scored 13 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and collected three steals. Murekatete scored 10.2 points per game. She scored 22 points in 25 minutes during the season opener against San Jose State.

Washington State has won the last two games amongst the two schools. The most recent was a 92-45 home blowout during the 2016-17 season.

Cal State East Bay at San Francisco

Shooting guard Jasmine Gayles and the San Francisco Dons will open their season at home at Cal State East Bay. Gayles has shot 35.5 percent from three-point territory over her first three collegiate seasons. Her first two seasons were played at Northern Colorado, last year was her first at San Francisco. The Seattle, Washington native averaged 11.6 points per game and shot a career best 45.3 percent from the field. She topped 20 points in eight games last season. Gayles scored a season high 28 points on 3-7 shooting from three, against Santa Clara. She shot 7-11 from the field in a 22-point effort against No. 16 BYU.

Delia Moore leads East Bay into action. The 5-7 senior guard averaged a career high 11.8 points per game last season for the NCAA Division II program. Moore scored a career high 24 points, draining four threes against Northwest Nazarene. Last season East Bay had a 24-3 record.

Kennesaw State at Ole Miss

Myah Taylor will lead Ole Miss in her first game as a Rebel against Kennesaw State. Taylor started her career at Mississippi State where she competed for four seasons. The 5-7 point guard from Olive Branch, Mississippi, was 20th in the NCAA with an average of 5.5 assists per game. Over her career she has dished out 444 assists in 115 games. Taylor had seven or more assists in 11 contests last season. On the defensive side Taylor had a career best average of 2.7 steals per game. She stole the ball a season high seven times in an early win against Alcorn State. In that game she scored 15 points with nine assists.

Kennesaw State's top point guard is Amani Johnson. Over her first four seasons she has scored 1,348 points, 485 assists, 446 rebounds and 208 steals. Johnson scored 20 or more points twice last season, including a 25-point performance against Stetson. She shot 10-18 from the field in that contest. Johnson recorded a season's best nine assists in three appearances.

Ole Miss and Kennesaw State last faced each other in 2017. The Rebels won 92-63 on their home court.