Women’s NCAA Spokane Regional: Five to watch at the Arena this weekend

March 23, 2022 Updated Wed., March 23, 2022 at 8:34 p.m.

Left to right, Stanford’s Lacie Hull, Francesca Belibi, Haley Jones and Lexie Hull watch the Cardinals polish off a 91-65 win over Kansas in the second round Sunday. (Tony Avelar)

By Dave Nichols daven@spokesman.com (509) 459-5441

Four of the women’s college basketball teams ranked in the top 14 gather at the Arena this weekend to decide one berth to the NCAA Tournament Final Four next week in Minneapolis.

No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 Texas, No. 13 Maryland and No. 14 Ohio State have talent to spare on their rosters, but five (OK, six) stand out as players to watch during the Spokane Regional games.

Lexie and Lacie Hull, Stanford

Players 1 and 1A to watch this weekend are the Hull twins of Stanford. They grew up in Spokane Valley and led Central Valley to State 4A titles in 2016 and ’18.

They followed that up by winning the GEICO National tournament in New York City.

Lexie Hull is one of the most decorated players in the history of girls high school basketball in the state. She was twice named Gatorade State Player of the Year and was a three-time Associated Press 4A State Player of the Year.

Lacie was named the state coaches association 4A player of the year her senior season, named to the 4A all-state first team and was the Seattle Times co-player of the year with her sister.

The pair went 102-6 in their prep career.

Now seniors at Stanford, Lexie is a three-time All-Pac 12 first-team selection. Lacie is a key contributor and defensive specialist with the Cardinal, earning the 2021 Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year.

Lexie scored 36 points, hitting six 3-pointers, in the Cardinal’s second-round win over Kansas and is averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

As their college career nears the close, the pair would love nothing more to win two games in their hometown to reach the Final Four once more.

Haley Jones, Stanford

The 6-foor-1 junior guard is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year and an Associated Press first-team All-America selection. If the Hull twins are the heart of the Cardinal’s national title defending team, Jones is the engine.

Jones averages 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks – while shooting better than 42% from the field and over 82% at the line.

Jones has eight double-doubles to her credit this season along with the first triple-double at Stanford in almost 20 years with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Portland in November.

Aaliyah Moore, Texas

The freshman has been on a tear for the Longhorns, scoring 18 points in Texas’ first-round win and a season-high 21 against Utah on Saturday, helping the Longhorns to shoot a season-high 63.6% against the Utes.

Moore has played 20 or more minutes in Texas’ past three games, including the Big 12 championship game against Baylor. She logged a season-high 30 minutes in the second game of the season – against Stanford – with nine points and five rebounds, shooting 50% on the night.

The 6-1 forward was named a McDonald’s All-American last year and is a two-time Gatorade state player of the year in Oklahoma.

Texas has a lot of options, but Moore is increasingly becoming a driving force.

Angel Reese, Maryland

The 6-3 sophomore forward from Baltimore is turning a lot of heads. Name a postseason award list and she was on it – third-team AP All-American, defensive player of the year semifinalist, Wooden Award National Ballot, All-Big 10 first team and defensive team. The honors go on and on.

Reese registered 16 double-doubles this season, with a season-high 16 rebounds against Indiana on Feb. 25, and averages 17.5 points and 10.7 rebounds.

She was the nation’s No. 2 recruit coming out of high school. After injuries robbed her of much of her freshman year, Reese didn’t waste any time reestablishing herself as one of the top players in the country.

Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State

The 5-10 junior guard is averaging 19.8 points on better than 50% shooting – including 36.4% on 3-pointers – with 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game.

She had a season-high 33 points against Michigan State on Jan. 12 and had a 10-assist game in the rematch against the Spartans on Feb. 27.

Sheldon has 48 points in her two tournament games – 25 in an opening-round win over Missouri State and 23 against LSU in the second-round win, playing 40 minutes in both.

A first-team All-Big 10 selection, on top of her offensive prowess Sheldon also earned all-defensive honors.