WB2K23: Opening Night 3

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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.

Middle Tennessee State at Mercer

Senior forward Kseniya Malashka made a statement during her first season at Middle Tennessee State. After three seasons at Virginia Commonwealth where she appeared in limited minutes, Malashka played a career high 20.5 minutes per game and while only starting one of 31 games, she averaged a team high 13.6 points per game. The native of Minsk, Belarus never averaged more than 5.7 points while at Virginia Commonwealth. Malashka posted 27 points in a win over Charlotte, which was her best scoring night of the season. Two games later she had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in a Conference USA tournament quarterfinal win over Southern Mississippi. She finished the season with 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the semifinal round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament.

Erin Houpt brings her three-point shooting to the season opener for Mercer. As a freshman she averaged 9.1 points while hitting 59 threes at a 40.1 percent clip. In a win over Samford, Houpt shot 7-14 from three while scoring a career high 25 points. Three games later she scored 22 points after making seven of her eight three-point attempts. The 5-6 shooter from Danville, Illinois helped Mercer win the Southern Conference Championship with 12 points and five rebounds in a tournament final win over Furman.

Vanderbilt at Western Kentucky

Iyana Moore leads Vanderbilt into battle as it kicks its season off on the road against Western Kentucky. Moore is a 5-8 guard who averaged 12.7 points last season. She shot 38.2 percent from three and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line. Her best scoring night of her rookie season was a 32-point performance against Alabama State. Moore canned nine of her 12 three-point attempts in that game, while also grabbing seven rebounds and passing out four assists. Playing her most consistent basketball during the post-season, Moore averaged 17 points per game in two SEC Tournament contests, before averaging 18.3 points per game in three Women's National Invitational Tournament contests.

Mya Meredith will lead host Western Kentucky. She returns after a freshman season that saw her average 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. A native of Newport, Kentucky, Meredith scored at least 20 points four times last season. She led her team to her first collegiate win by scoring 20 points in 19 minutes against North Carolina A&T. She shot 5-8 from three in the victory. In a late season win over Rice, she scored 20 points with eight rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots. Her season high in scoring and blocked shots was in the same contest. Meredith scored 24 points with three blocked shots against Southern Mississippi.

North Carolina A&T at Duke

Maleia Bracone will make her debut for North Carolina A&T after two seasons at Presbyterian. Bracone averaged 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. The 5-10 guard from Anderson, South Carolina, shot 9-14 while scoring a season high of 25 points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in a win over Gardner-Webb. During a first-round appearance in the Big South tournament, Bracone scored 16 points with seven rebounds and five steals in her final game for Presbyterian.

Duke will host its in-state opponent as Toronto, Ontario, Canada native Shayeann Day-Wilson attempts to build on a strong rookie season. She averaged 12.7 points and 3.7 assists per game last year. Day-Wilson had four games with 20 or more points. She scored her career high of 26 points against Troy, shooting 8-10 from three, during the win. Later in the season the 5-6 guard posted 25 points on the road against Louisville. Three games later she led Duke to victory over Wake Forest with 22 points and five rebounds. In the first-round of the ACC Tournament Day-Wilson guided Duke to a close win over Pitt with 22 points, five assists and three rebounds.