ESPN Unveils Announcers for Select Women’s College Basketball Games
ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN FULL COURT – which will combine to present approximately 250 women’s college basketball games during the 2010-11 season – has an all-star cast of commentators returning to familiar and new positions, along with several new faces to the lineup.
The fifth season of ESPN2’s Big Monday primetime game-of-the-week women’s basketball series will feature 10 games over seven weeks, including three straight doubleheaders in February. The Big Monday games will air at 7 p.m. ET with the second game of a doubleheader at 9 p.m. The duo of Pam Ward and Carolyn Peck return to the Big Monday series calling the single-header games from Jan. 17-31 and on Feb. 28. On the doubleheader Big Monday evenings, Peck will join Kara Lawson in studio, and Stephanie White teaming up with Ward for the 7 p.m. contest. The Final Four announcing team of Dave O’Brien and Doris Burke will be paired for the 9 p.m. telecast.
Lawson will add men’s game coverage to her continuing role as a women’s college basketball studio analyst on Monday and select Sunday nights. Ward and Peck will also be teamed up for the Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona Extra Monday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. featuring No. 8 Texas A&M at No. 6 Duke and other select ESPN2 games.
For the second straight year, College GameDay Driven by State Farm will originate from a women’s game, and for the first time the day will feature a men’s and women’s doubleheader between Vanderbilt at Tennessee, ranked No. 20 and No. 4, respectively on the women’s side. Dan Shulman and Doris Burke will call the women’s game at 8 p.m., while Burke will join the weekly GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps for the morning segment of the show.
Rebecca Lobo, known for her sideline reporting, will add to her duties this season as a game and studio analyst. ESPN reporter Holly Rowe will call play-by-play on select women’s games this season. Beth Mowins will again be main fixture as a play-by-play announcer on the women’s basketball schedule, both on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
Tamika (Williams) Raymond joins ESPN as a game analyst. Most recently, Raymond was appointed the head coach for the Indian Sr. Women’s Basketball team for the 16th Asian Games, which will be held in Guangzhou (China) from Nov. 12-27.
The No. 6 overall draft pick, Raymond spent seven seasons (2002-08) in the WNBA, playing six with the Minnesota Lynx and one with the Connecticut Sun. She also spent seven years (2003-10) as an assistant coach with the Ohio State and Kansas women’s basketball programs. A four-year member (1998-2002) of the Connecticut women’s basketball team, Raymond was part of UConn’s national championship title run in 2000 and 2002 under head coach Geno Auriemma.
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude joins ESPN as a game analyst after a stellar four-year women’s basketball career at Stanford. Gold-Onwude was vital in Stanford’s three straight Final Four berths, including appearances in the title game in 2008 and 2010. She left Stanford as the all-time leader in games played (148) and was named the 2010 Pac-10 Co-Defender of the Year.
Familiar faces to ESPNU and ESPN Regional Television (ERT) games this season include analysts Abby Waner, Brooke Weisbrod, LaChina Robinson and Kayte Christensen, along with play-by-play announcers Cara Capuano, Bob Picozzi, Sam Gore and Jim Barbar.
ESPN coverage of women’s basketball includes:
- 30 regular-season games on ESPNU
- 42 games (of 63 regular-season telecast) involving teams currently ranked, including 26 with both teams in the top 25
- 12 potential games involving teams currently ranked in top 10
- Connecticut’s potential record run to 88 straight wins with the following games – Maggie Dixon Classic (No. 1 UConn vs. No. 7 Ohio State) to tie the record on Sun., Dec. 19 on ESPNU and the record-breaking game against No. 14 Florida State on Tue., Dec. 21 on ESPNU
- Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods featuring 21 games from 13 conferences
Select 2010-11 Women’s Basketball Talent Assignments (Schedule subject to change;
All ESPN/ESPN2 games to be simulcast on ESPN3.com)
Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
Tue, Nov 16 | 6 p.m. | State Farm Tip-Off Classic as Part of College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon (Hartford, Conn.): No. 2 (tie) Baylor at No. 1 UConn
Dave Pasch, Doris Burke & Rebecca Lobo |
ESPN2 |
Sun, Dec 5 | 2 p.m. | Purdue at No. 12 Notre Dame
TBD & Kara Lawson |
ESPN2 |
Mon, Dec 6 | 7 p.m. | Jimmy V Women’s Classic: No. 8 Texas A&M at No. 6 Duke
Pam Ward & Carolyn Peck |
ESPN2 |
Tue, Dec 14 | 7 p.m. | No. 4 Tennessee at No. 2 (tie) Baylor
Pam Ward & Carolyn Peck |
ESPN2 |
Sun, Dec 19 | 7 p.m. | No. 2 (tie) Stanford at No. 4 Tennessee
Pam Ward & Carolyn Peck |
ESPN2 |
Thu, Dec 30 | 9 p.m. | No. 1 Connecticut at No. 2 (tie) Stanford
Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke & Rebecca Lobo |
ESPN2 |
NOTE: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPN3.com’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship schedule and talent will be announced at a later date.
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Media Contact: Rachel Margolis at 860-766-2798 or [email protected]