Early power play
Perennial powers Huskies, Bears meet in Elite Eight
Titans of women’s college basketball clash in Elite Eight.
Connecticut and Baylor have dominated women’s college basketball in recent years and will meet Monday for a chance for one to advance to yet another Final Four.
The Huskies (27-1) will be looking for the the program’s 13th straight appearance in the showcase, 21st all-time and a 12th national championship.
The Lady Bears (28-2), the defacto defending champions after winning the title in 2019, will be looking for their fifth trip to a Final Four and a fourth title.
“I wish it was for the national championship and not a chance to get to a Final Four, because I think both programs are just elite, and it’s a shame somebody has to lose,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said Sunday.
It is a sentiment echoed by UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who also believes the teams are playing too early in the tournament.
“I think they were underseeded,” Auriemma said. “Explain to me how they are a No. 2 seed. These things happen, I know. But I think they deserved to be an No. 1 seed, if you look around the rest of the tournament.”
The teams mirror each other in many ways, each having been built by their Hall of Fame coaches using similar formulas.
Both stress defense. Baylor is tops in the nation, allowing opponents to shoot an average of 32.3% from the field. UConn ranks fourth, with opponents shooting 33.3% from the floor.
“It could be an ugly game,” Mulkey said. “When I say ‘ugly,’ it could be low scoring, it could be some turnovers. Some people want to say boring. It may not be 80 and 90. I don’t know.”
Both also feature stars — UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Baylor’s Nalyssa Smith — supplemented by a supporting cast of other talented players who can take over games.
“Every team that competes for a championship and actually has won a championship has pretty much used that formula if they want to come back,” Auriemma said. “Now, if you are only trying to do it once and you’re trying to give it one shot at, then maybe you don’t have to do it this way. But if you want to be that kind of program that has a chance each year to put yourself in that situation, then that’s how you have to do it.”
Some things to watch for when UConn and Baylor meet Monday in the Elite Eight:
• Baylor’s Smith has made 26 of her 33 shots in the Lady Bear’s three games and went 11 of 11 from the floor in the team’s overtime win against Michigan in the Sweet 16.
UConn freshman Aaliyah Edwards also has been on fire, averaging 18 points per game in the tournament, while hitting 22 of her 26 shots.
“If it wasn’t for Aaliyah Edwards, we wouldn’t be here today,” Auriemma said. “That kid has really added so much to our team. Her strength, her physicality, her toughness, her finishing around the basket.”
• Mulkey is most concerned with UConn freshman Paige Bueckers.
The player-of-the year candidate has put up 62 points, 23 rebounds and 18 assists in UConn’s three games. But Baylor’s coach, a former point guard herself, said it’s Buecker’s court vision and ability to anticipate how a play will develop that makes her extremely dangerous.