They deserve to be in the Final Four. But it’s not going to be that much different than, how is Mississippi State going to handle their first Final Four?
Advertisement
Geno Auriemma, Tara VanDerveer and Dawn Staley have decades-long connections through women’s NCAA Final Fours and Olympic gold medals.
If there’s good news for Stanford, it’s that its defense has allowed opponents to score a meager 56.3 points per game. “When I got the job a few years back she could have left to goto Ohio State or transfered somewhere else, but she believed in me and what we could do here”. However, William scored 12 points in overtime to help her team advance to the Final Four. “I think we have a different mindset than past year”. Coach Schaefer said he coaches out of failure, as Breanna Richardson solidified Schaefer’s claim by mentioning the team’s motivation to avoid another bitter loss again. “We’re another year in experience”.
They’re basically the underdog going into the weekend, but not really, because the Bulldogs are a very good basketball team that just happened to be placed on the same side of the bracket as the Huskies.
When UConn’s on offense, the Bulldogs would be wise to stick to what they do best – coach Vic Schaefer is nicknamed the Secretary of Defense for a reason – and pressure the perimeter.
OR got no closer as Williams scored the first four points of the third quarter and the all-tournament pick would finish with 25 points, six rebounds, and four steals.
Speaking of business, a big game for UConn means a big night at Chicago Sam’s, the sports bar in Cromwell.
The Huskies won in convincing fashion against Oregon.
On paper, not much has changed for UConn.
Not many are expecting the Bulldogs (33-4), a 22-point underdog as of Thursday morning, to pull that off against UConn (36-0), the victor of the last four national titles.
What is missing from CT is the three members of its starting five – Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck – who were the top three picks of the WNBA Draft past year. This is the same team that thrashed the Bulldogs in the Sweet Sixteen by 60 points. And before their last loss – in overtime to Stanford on November 17, 2014 – they won 46 in a row. Schaefer surprisingly shook up the starting lineup before the NCAA Tournament – starting role players like Blair Schaefer, Roshunda Johnson and Ketara Chapel instead of usual starters like Victoria Vivians, Dominique Dillingham and Chinwe Okorie – and it was just the jolt the Bulldogs needed.
“There’s nobody on our team right now that had anything other than, ‘I was at that game, ‘ to do with that score”, Auriemma said later in the day.
Seems pretty basic but when Mississippi State hits shots, they win.
Still, that one stretch harkened back to a time when the Huskies were one of the most aggressive defensive teams in the country.
Series: Connecticut leads 1-0 overall.
The nine-time Associated Press coach of the year said, “it’s not like people are consciously depriving women of opportunities”.
To beat UConn, Mississippi State will need to limit UConn getting out in transition and also letting turnovers turn into easy baskets off the break.
Last weekend they defeated Baylor, a team most of the national media thought UConn would be playing tonight. The team is hoping for their fifth straight NCAA championship title. This year alone, the California-native tallied 1,109 points, which broke the NCAA single-season scoring record. The Huskies have won a total of 11 titles and have recorded six undefeated seasons.
The senior guard’s 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals added to the “death by a thousand cuts” loss for OR in the Bridgeport Regional Final.
C Teaira McCowan 6-7 So.
G Morgan William 5-5 Jr. Yep, Tulane. Saniya Chong and Napheesa Collier dealt with four fouls during most of the 4th quarter.
“Obviously, this is a special one for us”, UConn guard Kia Nurse said.
Advertisement
“I just think all of it is part of the process”, Graves said.
