(CNN)The Connecticut Huskies take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the women's basketball national championship Sunday night in a matchup of last year's player of the year against this year's.
No. 1 overall seed South Carolina is led by junior Aliyah Boston, the 6-foot-5 forward who has dominated the paint for the favorite Gamecocks. Boston averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and more than 2 blocks per game on the season on her way to winning the Associated Press national player of the year.
UConn, meanwhile, is led by sophomore guard Paige Bueckers, last year's national player of the year. She missed much of the season with a left knee injury but returned in February and is part of a trio of stellar guards.
The title game is a rematch. South Carolina beat UConn 73-57 in November in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, relying on 22 points from Boston and a stifling defense that held the Huskies to just 3 points in the 4th quarter.
UConn, the premier women's basketball program for almost three decades, finds itself in the odd position of underdog. A 2-seed in the tournament, UConn had 11 starting lineups this season due to a mix of injuries and Covid illnesses.
Still, UConn reached the Final Four by topping 1-seed NC State in an epic 91-87 win in double-overtime, the first time in women's NCAA tournament history a game in the Elite Eight or beyond needed double overtime. They followed that up with a 63-58 win over another 1-seed in Stanford on Friday night to reach the title game.
South Carolina has been the top-ranked team since the preseason and is 34-2 on the year, with each of its losses coming by 2 points or fewer.
The Gamecocks reached the Final Four by beating 10-seeded Creighton 80-50 and then dropping 1-seeded Louisville 72-59 on Friday to reach the title game. In the win over Louisville, Boston and her pink and purple braids scored 23 points and snagged 18 rebounds, the 29th double-double of her stellar season.
UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, is led by its backcourt trio of guards in Bueckers, Christyn Williams and Azzi Fudd, who each average over 12 points a game on the season. The title game will take place in Minneapolis and is a homecoming for Bueckers, who grew up in the suburb of Hopkins.
This is UConn's 14th consecutive Final Four appearance stretching back to 2007. The Huskies have made the championship game 11 times in their illustrious history -- and have gone a perfect 11-0 in those contests.
South Carolina, under coach Dawn Staley, has made the Sweet 16 every year since 2014 and won its first national championship in 2017. They were the top-ranked team in the country in 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to Covid-19 and last year lost in the Final Four.
The two teams last played in the NCAA tournament in 2018, when UConn beat South Carolina 94-65 to go to the Final Four.
Sports - Latest - Google News
April 04, 2022 at 12:51AM
https://ift.tt/Lks3QF5
UConn and South Carolina set to battle for the NCAA women's basketball title - CNN
Sports - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/BVeHrf9
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "UConn and South Carolina set to battle for the NCAA women's basketball title - CNN"
Post a Comment