UConn women on a mission to claim their record 12th NCAA basketball championship

Undefeated, top-ranked UConn women on a mission to claim their record 12th NCAA basketball championship, but the field of challengers are also in quest as the Sweet 16 bounces in this weekendNo doubt the women’s game has vastly improved

By Arnie Leshin

Can’t forget the women. In fact, the term Sweet 16 even sounds better for them, and that’s where they will be this weekend, in Albany, N.Y., in Kansas City, Mo., in Spokane, Wash., and in Lexington, Ky.

The Final Four will be played in Columbus, Ohio, but 3rd seeded Ohio State will not be the host. The Buckeyes were one of the surprise losers as 11th seeded Central Michigan eliminated them in the second round. This came on the heels of 11th seeded Buffalo (29-5) ousting 3rd seeded Florida State.

Nothing like the stunners in the men’s field. There, two of the top seeds, two of the 2nd seeds, and two of the 3rd seeds fell.

But the two women’s surprises came at the hands of the 11th seeds, and the rest of the field settled in for the stretch run.

No doubt, record 11-time NCAA champion, undefeated University of Connecticut, is again favored after having its record 11-straight victories abruptly halted by Mississippi State in last year’s semifinals in Dallas, and South Carolina then hoisted its first championship trophy in defeating the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State is one of the No. 1 seeds and again a threat. South Carolina is a 2nd seed, but has yet to win over UConn. Same with top seed Louisville, which has won only once in 17 starts against the Huskies. The other top seed, Notre Dame, is one of the few that has had success against Geno Auriemma’s program.

But no one has had success against UConn this season, as it has won 34 in a row that included wins over Louisville, Notre Dame, South Carolina, 2nd seeded Texas, 3rd seeded UCLA, 4th Stanford, and four others ranked in the top 20. Five of these came on the road, which continued the Huskies’ run of a record 42-straight wins away from Connecticut.

Still, there’s always talk about A’J Wilson of the Gamecocks, Chenney Carter of Texas A & M, Sabrina Ionescu, Asia Durr of Louisville, and Victoria Vivians of Mississippi State among others. These are called the ones to watch.

Except for one thing, the ones to watch wear the blue and white of UConn, the most balanced team in the tournament, and with Duke transfer, 6-foot-6 Azura Stevens first off the bench, it offers another threat.

The only reason that Stevens, who is averaging 18 points a game, is a reserve is because of 6-3 junior Katie Lou Samuelson, 6-1 junior Napheesa Collier, 5-11 senior Gabby Williams, 6-foot senior Kia Nurse, and 5-5 sophomore point guard Crystal Dangerfield.

No other team can boast of such a versatile group. Samuelson is more than a 3-point sharpshooter. She plays solid defense, hustles for every lose ball, and brings down rebounder. Collier is strong inside, can hit from outside, and can rebound with the best.

Auriemma calls Williams the most complete player in the country, and he’s probably right. She has games in which she will score, rebound, assist and defend. In fact, even with pesky, talented Dangerfield, Williams leads the team in assists and is among the leaders nationally.

Nurse plays smart, can toss in the 3s, handle the ball, and is among the best defenders. And Dangerfield does what she has to do, race the ball down court, set up the plays, and even toss in 3s.

She and the others are best at finding the open player inside for the back-door, and making sure that everyone handles the ball before finding the open outside player. They can all shoot from outside the arch.

Stevens is unique. She is quick to the basket and posts herself for the back-door, also shoots the 3, runs the floor in rapid order as her teammates do, is tough on defense, and is awesome at bringing down rebounds. She is a weapon that this team didn’t have last year. While at Duke, she averaged 22 points a game and became a member of the 1,000-point club once she took the floor for the Huskies.

With the exception of Stevens, Auriemma doesn’t often call on his bench. But he will bring in 6-1 freshman Megan Walker, last year’s high school player of the year, as well as three other talented freshmen, plus sophomores Molly Bent and Kyla Irwin.

There you are, more than one to watch unlike the other teams.

Not to say that there isn’t quality competition that awaits them. They line up against 5th seeded Duke (24-8) in Albany Saturday. If they advance, it would be a final versus surprising Buffalo (29-5) or South Carolina (28-4), with the Bulls having the advantage of playing in the same state.

In the lower half of the bracket, there’s the likes of Notre Dame (31-3), Oregon (32-4), Texas A & M. (26-9) and surprising Central Michigan (30-4), that could mean trouble for UConn.

In the other bracket, it also contains teams that the Huskies could meet up, as in Mississippi State (34-1), Texas (28-6), Louisville (34-2), Stanford (25-10), UCLA (26-7) and Oregon State (25-7). There’s no doubt the women’s game has improved, and that the Huskies will have to be prepared for this.

While the PAC 12 was shut out in the men’s draw, it has landed four teams in the Sweet 16, the most along with the ACC, while the SEC has three left.
Plus unlike the men, it has all four top seeds and all four 2nd seeds remaining. Top teams eliminated were Tennessee, FSU, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma State.

But the two Oregons, the Ducks and Beavers, are still playing, and look impressive. Texas has three schools left, the Longhorns, Baylor and A & M. And it will be most interesting to see how Buffalo and Central Michigan do in the Sweet 16. Both are on a high and want on show they belong there.

Never can forget about the women.