Women’s college basketball is always full of surprises, and Thursday night delivered a little bit of everything: from South Florida surviving a furious rally with Florida and Tennessee’s Kaylene Smikle continuing her impressive start to the season, to Virginia Tech freshman Jessica Dimaro producing a double-double for the ages and Baylor finding an unlikely offensive star off its bench. Meanwhile, Tulsa handed Oklahoma State its first defeat of the campaign.

With several programs making early-season statements, here are the five biggest takeaways from November 12th’s women’s college basketball action.

Best Game: Florida Gators 70 – 72 South Florida Bulls

In most cases, a 16-point lead should be enough to see things through. But South Florida found it the hard way that nothing is guaranteed in an in-state matchup, and they had to dig deep to end up on the winning side.

To South Florida’s credit, they started off strong and took early control, opening the contest with seven unanswered points and carrying a 17-15 advantage into the second quarter. The Bulls continued building momentum and created a 34-20 cushion. However, Florida’s initial signs of a comeback came right before the break, as they answered with a 9-1 run to reduce the deficit to 35-29.

But South Florida were right on top of things once again in the third quarter. Hannah Kohn scored her 200th shot from outside the arc as the Bulls entered the final period with the score 62-48 in their favor. However, the script was about to flip once again.

After a sluggish 30 minutes, the Gators entered a flow state in the final quarter and finally unlocked their offensive prowess. They gradually chipped away at the deficit and scored nine straight points, tying the game at 70 thanks to a Vivian Iwuchukwu free throw. She scored seven of her 14 points in the fourth. With the contest tied, both programs missed on their respective ends until Kate Novik stepped up with a crucial layup with 24 seconds left. Florida had one last opportunity to force another change in the score, but Kiyomi McMiller missed a layup with three seconds remaining.

“First and foremost, I want to give credit to South Florida and Kristy [Curry’s] team. I thought for three quarters they came in here and they just played tougher and harder than us — they really did. In all the toughness plays you can see it. So, offensive rebounding, you can see it. Free throw line. Hunting that paint. You can see it. How many paint points they had. You can see it,” Gators head coach Tammi Reiss said after the game.

“So really this game came down to, and it’s no surprise — we said it in our preparation — the tougher team is going to win. And today, South Florida definitely was the tougher team, so much credit to them,” she added.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget about the UConn Huskies. Geno Auriemma’s troops delivered one of the most convincing performances of the night, handing No. 17 Ohio State an 87-55 defeat on the road. But the massive gap in the final scoreline doesn’t actually reflect the whole story.

While the Huskies led 27-22 after the first quarter, Ohio actually cut the lead down to 38-35 before halftime, as Sarah Strong was on the bench with foul trouble. However, upon her return in the third quarter, the Huskies completely outplayed the Buckeyes in the second half, scoring almost 50 points compared to only 20 from Ohio.

Strong scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half and finished with a career-high seven three-pointers, while grabbing nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Freshman Olivia Vukosa also had probably her best game in a Huskies shirt, contributing eight points while grabbing 12 rebounds (eight offensive), six assists, and two blocks. This was the Huskies’ second straight win against a ranked opponent in their third consecutive ranked game.

Best Performer of the Day: Kaylene Smikle

Just a day after becoming the first recipient in this season of the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, Kaylene Smikle continues her ascent as one of the most prolific scorers in women’s basketball today. She had another huge night on Thursday, needing just 22 minutes to score 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She connected on three of her seven attempts from beyond the arc and converted all nine free throws. Apart from her scoring, she also contributed five rebounds and four assists.

Smikle’s scoring impact was visible from the start, as she opened the first quarter with 11 points and finished with another 10 at the end of the first half. With 21 points, she left Middle Tennessee with little opportunity to find its way back into the contest. Moreover, this was Smikle’s second 30-point game in four games this season, reaching figures in all of them. After the game, head coach Kim Mulkey specifically highlighted Smikle’s performance.

“I think that, to her point, we knew who we were getting in a player,” Mulkey said on Smikle shooting nearly 60% from the field and more than 50% from the three-point line. “And she still, too, I think, has a really high ceiling. She’s not going to be perfect every single night, but this is consistently who she is. She shoots the ball very well, and I think she was underrated a little bit in her shooting ability. She has a great shot. She can get to the rim.”

“And what impresses me so much about her is not her efficiency, not the way she scores the ball, but the way she defends. She pressures the ball. She’s active. She flies around. She wants to go get steals. But when she could kind of go on a hot streak offensively, she continues to find her teammates. She makes the right plays. That’s why she’s efficient. She makes the right plays. She shares the ball. She has good teammates around her. She doesn’t just try to force it.”

Top Freshman of the Day: Jessica Dimaro

What better outing for a freshman than to create program history. Jessica Dimaro did just that after delivering a historic 23-point, 24-rebound performance against VCU to help the Hokies secure a 77-66 road victory at Siegel Center. With this performance, Dimaro smashed both the Hokies’ single-game records for offensive rebounds (17) and total rebounds (24), setting a double-double within the first 12 minutes. She also became the first player in program history to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a single game.

Though the first fourth-quarter timeout (6:36), Dimaro’s 21 rebounds were one more than the entirety of what VCU managed this game. Her 24 rebounds also surpassed the previous mark of 21 set by Elizabeth Kitley on January 17, 2021. Her 17 offensive rebounds also eclipsed Utaha Drye’s 11, which she produced on February 2, 2009.

“Jessie’s a talent,” head coach Megan Duffy said in her 200th win and 46th since joining the Hokies. “… She set the tone with her offensive rebounds and just has a knack to find the ball. We needed it, especially early in that first half, just getting those second-chance points when we weren’t flowing and missing a lot of shots. But those numbers are incredible.”

This contest also marked the Hokies’ first road win against VCU in Richmond since January 8, 1995, as Duffy’s side improved its record to 4-0. They will now face the La Salle Explorers on Sunday.

Upset of the Day: Tulsa 64 – Oklahoma State 62

Entering Thursday’s contest, No. 19 Oklahoma State looked to maintain its unbeaten start to the season. After all, Tulsa had never beaten a ranked opponent in 55 tries, with their last attempt being a 90-58 loss to then-No. 22 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on December 15, 2025. But this time, Oklahoma State experienced their first setback after Tulsa produced a spirited performance in overtime to secure a 64-62 victory.

The Golden Hurricane put the Cowgirls to work from the get-go, taking a 16-14 lead before extending it to four points at halftime, with Oklahoma State trailing 26-22. While the Cowgirls regained some control in the third quarter, it was a highly back-and-forth contest. Neither team could establish a significant advantage, which set up a close finish.

With 58 seconds left in regulation, Mady Cartwright of Tulsa scored two free throws, which tied the game. Neither side managed to convert the next game-winning opportunity, and we had overtime.

Even in OT, the Cowgirls struggled, falling behind by as many as seven points. However, Audi Crooks helped bring Oklahoma State back into the contest with a putback that tied the score at 62-62 with 1:06 remaining. But just when it seemed like the visitors would steal the victory, Alexa Kinas stepped up for Tulsa. The guard converted two crucial free throws with 36 seconds remaining. With Tulsa leading by two, Oklahoma State failed to convert its attempt to tie the contest, allowing Tulsa to complete the upset over the ranked side.

Crooks and Cartwright finished with 17 points each, with the latter ending up on the right side of history. Tulsa improved to 2-1 and will host Texas Southern on Sunday, while Oklahoma State are now 3-1 and will try to get back to winning ways against South Dakota State on Sunday.

Sixth Woman of the Day: Kayla Nelms

While Baylor enjoyed a dominant evening against Prairie View A&M, Kayla Nelms made sure her contribution did not go unnoticed. Coming off the bench, the junior forward delivered a career-best performance to help the Bears secure a commanding 121-43 victory.

In just 20 minutes, Nelms finished with a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds. Her efficiency was off the charts, as she converted 10 of 11 field-goal attempts and connected on three of her four shots from beyond the arc.

“Me and Kayla did play AAU together, so I have seen her have similar games to this,” longtime teammate and fifth-year forward Kyla Abraham said about Nelms, per the Baylor Lariat. “I was just really proud of her; this was the confidence she needed.”

Meanwhile, Lamar University junior Larissa Hubbard also commanded attention with her 21-point, 15-rebound performance in 29 minutes against Arlington Baptist. Hubbard was highly efficient, shooting 8-of-11 from the field while adding three steals and two blocks. Her contribution helped Lamar cruise to a 107-25 victory, with the Cardinals improving to 2-2 on the season.