Other B1G Team Notes 2024-25

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Iriafen, rising star at Stanford, to play for USC

Kiki Iriafen, who had a breakout junior season at Stanford, is transferring to join the USC Trojans, she told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

www.espn.com

Kiki Iriafen lands at Southern Cal

Kiki Iriafen, who had a breakout junior season at Stanford, is transferring to join the USC women's basketball program, she told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

Iriafen, a 6-foot-3 forward, will be returning to her hometown of Los Angeles after three seasons at Stanford. This season she averaged 19.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Cardinal (30-6) who advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Iriafen was the Pac-12's most improved player and on the All-Pac-12 team.

She was No. 2 in ESPN's transfer rankings list

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Adding height to the Terp rebuild

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

All-Pac-12 guard von Oelhoffen commits to USC

Talia von Oelhoffen, a graduate transfer from Oregon State and two-time All-Pac-12 guard, told ESPN Monday she has committed to USC.

www.espn.com

Talia von Oelhoffen moves to Southern Cal from Oregon State

The rich just got richer.

Two-time all-Pac-12 guard Talia von Oelhoffen, a graduate transfer from Oregon State, has committed to the USC Trojans, she told ESPN Monday.

Her move helps solidify USC's status as a national title contender in 2025, with the Trojans also adding former Stanford post Kiki Iriafen out of the portal, returning superstar JuJu Watkins and senior Rayah Marshall and bringing in the nation's top-ranked freshmen class.

"It's so exciting," von Oelhoffen told ESPN. "I mean, the sky's the limit for how good we can be... I'm super excited to take this team into the Big Ten and beyond."

The 5-foot-11 guard from Washington averaged 10.7 points, 5.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game this season as a key playmaker that guided the Beavers to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2021 and third Elite Eight since 2016. No. 3 seed Oregon State beat No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion South Carolina by 12 in the following contest.

Oregon State, which is becoming an affiliate member of the WCC in women's basketball upon the disintegration of the Pac-12, has eight players in the transfer portal.

Von Oelhoffen also considered Colorado, Kentucky and Louisville and took visits to all four schools before choosing USC for her graduate transfer season. After enrolling early amid the 2020-21 campaign, she has a fifth year of eligibility from the waiver the NCAA granted to student athletes amid the COVID-19 pandemic

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Maryland women’s basketball secures Villanova transfer Christina Dalce

The Terps have one remaining scholarship spot.

www.testudotimes.com

Terps continue filling their roster

After losing Rhode Island transfer Mayé Touré to Utah, head coach Brenda Frese and Maryland women’s basketball got right back to work in the transfer portal. On Tuesday, the Terps secured the commitment of Villanova forward Christina Dalce, per her post on Twitter.

The 6-foot-2 junior hails from New Jersey and offers a similar skillset to Touré. She proved to be a relentless rebounder with the Wildcats, pulling down an average of 9.4 boards per game. Her scoring averages have also improved with each passing year, going from 1.7 points per game in her freshman season to 7.3 in her sophomore campaign to 8.3 in 2023-24. Dalce’s shooting percentages have also gone up since her freshman year (40.9 to 44.1). Notably, she averaged 2.3 blocks per game in her junior season.

At the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, Dalce was named Philadelphia Big 5 Most Improved Player and selected to the USA Basketball 2023 women’s 3x3 U21 team. Following the 2023-24 season, she was named to the All-Big 5 second team.


Maryland’s rotations should not change all that much following the addition of Dalce. She projects to slide into a forward rotation that already consists of current Terps Allie Kubek and Emily Fisher, as well as fellow transfers Isi Ozzy-Momodu and Amari DeBerry.

If the Terps can tap into the scoring potential of Dalce, in addition to her strong defensive abilities, the team’s versatility will position them to contend for a top spot in the Big Ten.