2 months ago
The women’s Final Four is connected repeat. No 1 seeds UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are successful nan Final Four for nan 2nd consecutive season, conscionable nan 2nd clip nan aforesaid teams person reached nan sport’s last play successful consecutive years.
Only nan matchups and location will beryllium different this time. Reigning nationalist champion UConn will look South Carolina connected Friday successful Phoenix aft playing UCLA past season. The Bruins will return connected nan Longhorns.
“I don’t deliberation group understand really difficult it is to do it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “I deliberation it bodes good for each of us, but there’s 4 aliases 5 much teams correct location nipping astatine your heels.”
Just not this play – aliases last. The only different clip nan aforesaid 4 teams reached consecutive Final Fours was erstwhile UConn, Tennessee, Stanford and Georgia did truthful from 1995-96.
Everyone will beryllium trying to extremity nan Huskies successful this one. UConn person been nan modular successful women’s assemblage hoops nether coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies person won 12 nationalist championships, played successful 25 Final Fours – a grounds 14 consecutive from 2008-22 – and person won 1,288 games successful 41 seasons nether Auriemma.
The Huskies (38-0) person dominated this play successful their bid to decorativeness nan program’s seventh undefeated season. Deep and talented, UConn person won 54 consecutive games complete 2 seasons, winning by an mean of 37.8 points this year. The Huskies are led by first-team All-Americans Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, but person 8 players averaging astatine slightest 6.8 points per game.
“I consciousness for illustration nary different squad has a chair for illustration us,” said Strong, who leads nan squad astatine 18. points per game. “We tin person benignant of anyone disconnected nan chair measurement up and alteration nan full gait of nan game.”
They’ll look a South Carolina squad very acquainted pinch Final Four unit successful a rematch of past year’s title game. The Gamecocks person reached nan Final Four 7 of nan past 9 seasons – six consecutive – nether coach Dawn Staley, winning 3 nationalist championships.
South Carolina (35-3) person 5 players averaging double-figures successful scoring, led by second-team All-American Joyce Edwards’ 19.6 points per game, and play nan benignant of defense that leaves opponents flailing. The Gamecocks clasp teams to an mean of 57.6 points per crippled and had 17 steals successful a 101-61 triumph complete Southern California successful nan 2nd information of nan NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina faced their first shortage of nan NCAA Tournament against TCU successful nan Elite Eight connected Monday, but pulled distant successful nan 2nd half for a 78-52 triumph that completed nan Final Four repeat. It besides sets up a chance for payback aft nan Gamecocks mislaid to UConn successful past year’s title game.
“I deliberation you’ve conscionable sewage to spell lb for lb pinch them, conscionable beryllium unafraid of moving against an undefeated team,” Staley said. “The pressures of playing undefeated, if you support it close, you mightiness – mightiness – get them connected a bad nighttime and that’s what we’re hoping for connected Friday.”
UCLA person played successful nan NCAA Tournament 9 times successful coach Cori Close’s 15 seasons, including nan program’s first Final Four a twelvemonth ago. The Bruins person yet to triumph a nationalist championship, yet person a immense advantage successful Lauren Betts.
The 6ft 7in, two-time All-American has dominated during her elder season, averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from nan field. Betts led nan Bruins backmost from a uncommon half-time shortage against Duke successful nan Elite Eight, finishing pinch 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots successful nan 70-58 triumph connected Sunday.
“Her size and her accomplishment make her difficult to take sides one-on-one,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “And past nan model of their squad pinch nan shooting astir her makes it really difficult to bring an other defender, is benignant of really they’ve built and matched nan accomplishment sets.”
Betts and nan Bruins (35-1) caput to nan godforsaken to look nan only squad that hit them this season. It came astatine nan Players Era Championship connected 26 November, erstwhile nan Longhorns led by 20 astatine halftime and held disconnected a precocious complaint by UCLA to triumph 76-65 successful Las Vegas.
Led by fifth-year defender Rori Harmon and All-American guardant Madison Booker, Texas (36-3) steamrolled their first 4 NCAA Tournament opponents by an mean of 35.5 points per game.
The Longhorns blew retired Michigan 77-41 successful nan Elite Eight connected Monday night, earning consecutive Final Four trips for nan 2nd clip successful programme history. The 1996 squad vanished undefeated connected nan measurement to nan school’s only nationalist championship, a twelvemonth aft losing successful nan nationalist semi-finals.
“Well this group is awfully special. They’re tough. We telephone it Texas reliable successful Austin, but I told them they’re bully enough,” Schaefer said. “I’ve been connected this travel before, but I want them to really beryllium focused. Enjoy today. Don’t return this for granted.”
