What we learned from opening day of women's college basketball

Women's college basketball is back. There were plenty of teams in action on day one and a few key matchups. Let's take a look at a few takeaways from opening day, including some big-time performances from newcomers.

1. There's more parity than ever – from top to bottom

There were no major upsets yesterday, but there were a few "almost" upsets that had major fan bases questioning the legitimacy of their teams. First of all, it's November 4th. It takes teams a minute to gel and that's to be expected.

But it also speaks to the massive amount of parity in women's basketball this season.

At noon, we saw No. 1-ranked claw their way to a win in the final seconds of their game against No. 24-ranked Ole Miss . With a team that features so many newcomers, it's to be expected that the chemistry isn't all there yet – but Ole Miss is legit too and we can't discredit that. KK Deans returned from injury and put on a show in the second half. The matchup gave the Trojans a scare – and that's what we want in college basketball. Having this much parity is good for the game.

Speaking of "almost" upsets.... The biggest one of the day almost happened when , an unranked squad that started three freshmen, nearly beat out the defending national champion No. 2-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks . It was a close call and South Carolina didn't look so good, but Michigan is a team that seemed to be severely underlooked heading into the season. Each power conference is so deep this season, which means we'll likely be seeing a lot more "almost's" and actual upsets all season long.

Last year's freshman class was a rarity. Stars like JuJu Watkins Hannah Hidalgo Audi Crooks emerged as some of the best players in the game.

But this year's freshman class is no joke – and we saw proof of that during opening day.

Let's take a peek at some of the top freshmen performances of the day:

1. Georgia Tech's Dani Carnegie (17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals)
2. Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes (23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals)
3. Louisville's Taj Roberts (21 points)
4. Kentucky's Clara Silva (14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks
5. Georgia's Mia Woolfolk (18 points, 13 rebounds)
6. Michigan's Syla Swords (27 points, 12 rebounds)
7. Notre Dame's Kate Koval (18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists)

The transfer portal is a staple in college athletics. It brought Lauren Betts Hailey van Lith (and then ). There are plenty of transfers that are primed for big seasons – and some of them showed out today during their first game in a new uniform.

Here's a few of the transfers that put up big numbers on opening day.

1. USC's Kiki Iriafen (22 points, 13 rebounds)
2. Notre Dame's Liatu King (24 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks)
3. Penn State's Gracie Merkle (21 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks)
4. Oklahoma State's Macey Huard (31 points, 9 rebounds, 5-of-7 from deep)
5. Oklahoma's Raegan Beers (21 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks)

It's a long season and this was only day one, but it's looking to be another year full of great storylines and star power.