The commitments of Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow to “superteam” LSU took two of the transfer portal’s top stars are off the market.
Who is left in the portal? Just Women’s Sports takes a look.
Ashley Owusu, Virginia Tech
One of the top players in the transfer portal last season, Ashley Owusu’s decision to re-enter the portal this offseason came as no surprise after she missed the second half of the season due to injury and then apparent personal differences with the team.
A former all-Big Ten player at Maryland, the 6-0 guard was named tournament MVP in 2020 and 2021, earning all-Big Ten honors in all three years that she played in the conference. But she played minimal minutes at Virginia Tech, appearing in just 17 games and averaging 5.1 points in 15.1 minutes per game.
There has been no word on where the guard could go next, but she has one year of eligibility remaining and could provide a boost to any team if given the opportunity.
Aicha Coulibaly, Auburn
Aicha Coulibaly was a standout at Auburn in the 2022-23 season after being named to the All-SEC second team in 2022. She finished the year just off her career best, averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Among her standout performances: Her 26 points and seven rebounds in an upset win over then-No. 4 Tennessee.
Rumors have the 6-0 guard heading to Texas A&M, but Coulibaly has yet to make her commitment known.
Diamond Johnson, NC State
Another star in the portal who has yet to announce her commitment, Diamond Johnson led NC State in scoring last season with 12.3 points per game. But she was limited to 22 games due to an ankle injury, and she also missed both the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
The sixth-ranked recruit in the class of 2020, the 5-5 guard played her freshman year at Rutgers, where she made the all-freshman team. She then transferred to NC State, where she was named the ACC Sixth Player of the Year in 2022 while helping the Wolfpack to the Elite Eight.
Auburn women’s basketball upset No. 4 Tennessee on Thursday, 71-61, for the program’s first SEC win in almost two years and first top-five win in 25 years.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Auburn’s first-year head coach, Johnnie Harris, said after the game. “We’ve been right there in so many ball games … For them to finally be able to get through and persevere, I’m so happy for them.
Auburn was ahead by just one, 60-59, with four minutes left. The Tigers then went on an 11-0 run to close out the game, with Tennessee managing just 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
Sophomore guard Aicha Coulibaly led Auburn with a game-high 26 points and added seven rebounds. Sania Wells contributed 13 points, while Jala Jordan had 11 points and six rebounds.
“We were not afraid. We didn’t want them to be afraid,” Harris said. “We wanted to go out and have fun, but we wanted to go to war. We wanted to put pressure on them, we wanted to make them uncomfortable, and I feel like we did that.”
The Tigers forced Tennessee into 22 turnovers, converting them into 25 points.
Jordan Horston put up 21 points and eight rebounds in Tennesee’s losing effort. Teammate Jordan Walker had 17 points.
The Vols’ loss, their first in the SEC this season, moves No. 1 South Carolina into first place in the conference standings. The Gamecocks, who had previously dropped a conference game to Missouri, took care of business against Ole Miss, who is third in the SEC standings. South Carolina had called off a scheduled game against UConn on Thursday to reschedule the matchup with Ole Miss and prioritize conference play.
Tennessee and South Carolina are scheduled to meet on Feb. 20 at 12 p.m. ET. Before then, the Vols will look to get back on track against Arkansas on Monday. The Razorbacks mounted an upset of their own Thursday, defeating No. 12 LSU 90-76.