Post by Marco on Apr 5, 2024 4:44:04 GMT
How UConn women's basketball returned to Final Four: 'It's a miracle'
The Huskies lost six players to season-ending injuries and started the season 4-3 before...
By Maggie Vanoni
Apr 03, 2024 07:03 PM10 min. readView original
PORTLAND, Ore. — Geno Auriemma didn’t expect his UConn women’s basketball team to reach the Final Four.
The Huskies lost six of their 14 players to season-ending injuries. Four of his eight available are first-year players and only two are forwards. His starting lineup consisted of two freshmen and three seniors – including Paige Bueckers playing in her first season back after missing all last year with an ACL injury.
UConn started the season 4-3 and fell to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 in December: its lowest position in the national poll in 30 years.
Every sign pointed to another early exit in the NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, yet somehow someway they defied the odds stacked against them and returned to their spot in the national semifinals. UConn’s 15th appearance in the Final Four within the last 16 years.
The No. 3 seeded Huskies will face No. 1 Iowa and Cailtin Clark (the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer) Friday night in Cleveland (9:30 p.m. on ESPN) for the chance to play in Sunday’s national championship game. South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed, faces No. 3 NC State in the other Final Four.
And while Auriemma himself may have doubted, his players and his staff never did.
“Jamelle Elliott kept saying it and Tonya (Cardoza) kept saying that it's possible. They kept saying it,” Auriemma said. “Jamelle kept saying let’s ride the wave and when it crashes it crashes. That's it. Me, I was like, ‘There's no wave. There’s no nothing. It's just we're hanging on for dear life and it’s a miracle that we're even playing in these games. And yet, just when I thought, ‘Alright, here it comes.’ They would do something that would just make you feel like, ‘Maybe they got something left.’ … They believe in themselves. And they're making me believe in them even more.”
The Huskies were bounced from the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 last spring. The program’s earliest exit since 2005 snapped its NCAA record streak of 14-straight appearances in the Final Four.
This season started off just as rocky.
UConn lost two players to season-ending injuries before mid-November. By Jan. 3, it lost three more.
No Azzi Fudd. No Caroline Ducharme nor Aubrey Griffin. Ayanna Patterson was out with a knee injury and Jana El Alfy would have to wait another season before making her collegiate debut after tearing her Achilles.
The injuries robbed UConn of not only its best shooter but one of its most consistent scorers and it’s go-to sixth player. The Huskies were also left with just two healthy forwards and only one of them had played college ball before.
Auriemma had no option but to sit through trial-and-error lineups until he found one that worked. An untraditional one that featured four guards, including three point guards, and Bueckers playing in the power forward position.
The adjustment was grueling.
“When we changed the lineup and we went with three point guards, it was even worse because they were all standing around (complaining) about who was going to get the ball,” Auriemma said. “… I thought, man, this is the last great idea that I have. So, if this doesn't work, I don't know what will. And little by little it started working and started gelling and they started feeling comfortable.”
Bueckers, Nika Mühl and KK Arnold had to learn how to balance facilitating the ball while finding other areas on the court where they could be impactful without it in their hands. Arnold learned to control her pace, Mühl assumed her role as the team’s best defender and Bueckers, well, she did just about a little of everything.
The redshirt junior adapted to her role in the frontcourt and thrived. The change in position further unlocked parts of her game that grew and improved quickly throughout the season. She became a fierce blocker, competing alongside some of the nation’s best forwards and tall guards.
And perhaps the biggest shift for the Huskies star was that she learned to be selfish - something Auriemma has encouraged. Bueckers began to create her own shot, crash into the lane and find her open spots more than ever before. While her selflessness was always what made her such an excellent point guard, becoming comfortable with taking over is what’s made her one of the best all-around players of the game.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, right, celebrates the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, right, celebrates the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
Howard Lao/Associated Press
Bueckers is averaging career-high stats and is once again in conversation for Player of the Year. In UConn’s seven postseason games this spring (including three in Big East Tournament), she’s averaging 27.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.6 blocks in 37.9 minutes per game.
“She is incredible and she is unbreakable,” Mühl said. “And man, people doubt her, and she just keeps proving them wrong. And I don't know how her brain works. I don't know what's going on in her head. But it's really special. It's different. It’s simple, we have Paige and you don’t.”
But the Huskies were quick to learn that one player can’t do it all every game.
The Huskies’ 13-game winning streak came crashing down in late January. UConn lost 82-67 to longtime rival Notre Dame inside a sold-out Gampel Pavilion that included a crowd of some of the program’s greatest alumni.
“The Notre Dame loss just took a piece of my soul just the way everything worked out with alumni weekend, everybody was there, home court Gampel game and we just played terribly,” Bueckers said. “There was never a time where you really gave up hope, but times where you sort of question like how we're going to do it and how deep we're gonna have to dig to get it to get it done.”
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies looks on after her 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies looks on after her 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
UConn didn’t have enough time to pick up the pieces before it lost 83-65 at top-ranked South Carolina 15 days later.
That’s why even after UConn finished the regular season undefeated in Big East play, many wondered just how this team would match up against national competition in the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies made quick work of Jackson State in the first round but that was the last they got a chance to breathe.
Syracuse, led by the NCAA’s third all-time leading scorer Dyaisha Fair, pressured UConn until the game’s final minutes. Mühl was able to contain Fair in the first half but fouled out after getting called for three fouls within 30 seconds early in the fourth quarter.
UConn had been in the same position against Notre Dame. With Mühl out, the Huskies lost all their steam and let go of their lead and the game.
But this time, Bueckers wasn’t going to let that happen.
The Hopkins, Minnesota native rose to the occasion. She took over guarding Fair while directed UConn’s offense on the other end. She made clutch shots and got her teammates involved. With 29 seconds left and Bueckers triple-teamed atop the key, she found Arnold out unguard on the wing for the dagger 3-pointer to win.
“We have the best player in America," Auriemma said about Bueckers after the game. "Just saying that because the numbers, in this world of analytics, the numbers say that she is and the whole stat sheet says that she is and everybody that watched knows it.”
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, left, and guard Paige Bueckers celebrate the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, left, and guard Paige Bueckers celebrate the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
Howard Lao/Associated Press
Saturday’s Sweet 16 against Duke was just as close, except neither team played exceptionally well. Both the Huskies and Blue Devils’ defense prevented the other from going on deep runs. Yet, neither consistently capitalized on the other end.
UConn got up by 20 before the Blue Devils made one last attempt to crawl back and brought it within five with two minutes left. Despite playing with four fouls, Aaliyah Edwards made a huge jumper and rebound in the final 20 seconds to seal the win and send the Huskies to the Elite Eight.
Monday proved to be another, third-straight battle. This time against a USC team riding its best season in 30 years led by freshman phenom JuJu Watkins. Watkins entered Monday’s Elite Eight ranked No. 2 in the nation in averaging 27.0 points per game.
It was a tall task. Many didn’t believe the Huskies still had energy, let alone enough to really, truly compete.
And maybe it was the adrenaline or the nerves of playing in such a big game, but UConn, for the first time in a long time, appeared poised throughout the full 40 minutes. Even when USC tied the game five times and even when four Huskies got into foul trouble, the team still appeared in control and calm.
Bueckers did her thing. She sparked runs when UConn needed them and made the hardest shots look easy. She and Mühl slowed down Watkins (who still scored 29) and found their open teammates down the stretch. The bench, as depleted as it is, also stepped up and wasted no time contributing on either side of the ball.
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Aaliyah Edwards #3 of the Connecticut Huskies yells while lifting the Portland 3 Regional Championship trophy after her team's 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Aaliyah Edwards #3 of the Connecticut Huskies yells while lifting the Portland 3 Regional Championship trophy after her team's 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
As soon as the final buzzer went off, all 14 UConn players swarmed the court, grabbing each other into bear hugs and tight embraces. Many cried tears of joy, exhaustion and relief.
Confetti covered the court at Moda Center while a handful of UConn alumni stood in the crowd joining in on the celebration (including Evina Westbrook, Asjha Jones and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis) hugging coaches and team staff.
Edwards yelled out to the sideline: “We’re not done yet!” And repeated herself moments later into microphones as she walked off the postgame media podium alongside Bueckers and Mühl.
“This group is very special,” Mühl said. “We overcame so much and learned from it, not just overcame it. Although a lot of people didn't believe we were ever going to do this, we did. Don't get me wrong, we don't really care what other people think. At the same time, it feels really, really good to prove those people wrong.”
Earlier this week, Auriemma compared his team making, and winning, the Sweet 16 as miraculous as childbirth.
On Monday, standing in someone else’s clothes after his got soaked with a water bath from the team in the postgame locker room, the Hall of Fame coach was asked about making the Final Four.
“It’s a miracle. That is honest to God man, I cannot believe that. I can't believe that this is actually happening,” Auriemma said. “I had no idea. If you'd told me three weeks ago, ‘What are you doing April 5, 6, 7th?’ I’d say, ‘I'm gonna go to Florida, play a couple of days of golf and then relax a little bit.’ I'm going to Cleveland instead.”
The Huskies lost six players to season-ending injuries and started the season 4-3 before...
By Maggie Vanoni
Apr 03, 2024 07:03 PM10 min. readView original
PORTLAND, Ore. — Geno Auriemma didn’t expect his UConn women’s basketball team to reach the Final Four.
The Huskies lost six of their 14 players to season-ending injuries. Four of his eight available are first-year players and only two are forwards. His starting lineup consisted of two freshmen and three seniors – including Paige Bueckers playing in her first season back after missing all last year with an ACL injury.
UConn started the season 4-3 and fell to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 in December: its lowest position in the national poll in 30 years.
Every sign pointed to another early exit in the NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, yet somehow someway they defied the odds stacked against them and returned to their spot in the national semifinals. UConn’s 15th appearance in the Final Four within the last 16 years.
The No. 3 seeded Huskies will face No. 1 Iowa and Cailtin Clark (the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer) Friday night in Cleveland (9:30 p.m. on ESPN) for the chance to play in Sunday’s national championship game. South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed, faces No. 3 NC State in the other Final Four.
And while Auriemma himself may have doubted, his players and his staff never did.
“Jamelle Elliott kept saying it and Tonya (Cardoza) kept saying that it's possible. They kept saying it,” Auriemma said. “Jamelle kept saying let’s ride the wave and when it crashes it crashes. That's it. Me, I was like, ‘There's no wave. There’s no nothing. It's just we're hanging on for dear life and it’s a miracle that we're even playing in these games. And yet, just when I thought, ‘Alright, here it comes.’ They would do something that would just make you feel like, ‘Maybe they got something left.’ … They believe in themselves. And they're making me believe in them even more.”
The Huskies were bounced from the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 last spring. The program’s earliest exit since 2005 snapped its NCAA record streak of 14-straight appearances in the Final Four.
This season started off just as rocky.
UConn lost two players to season-ending injuries before mid-November. By Jan. 3, it lost three more.
No Azzi Fudd. No Caroline Ducharme nor Aubrey Griffin. Ayanna Patterson was out with a knee injury and Jana El Alfy would have to wait another season before making her collegiate debut after tearing her Achilles.
The injuries robbed UConn of not only its best shooter but one of its most consistent scorers and it’s go-to sixth player. The Huskies were also left with just two healthy forwards and only one of them had played college ball before.
Auriemma had no option but to sit through trial-and-error lineups until he found one that worked. An untraditional one that featured four guards, including three point guards, and Bueckers playing in the power forward position.
The adjustment was grueling.
“When we changed the lineup and we went with three point guards, it was even worse because they were all standing around (complaining) about who was going to get the ball,” Auriemma said. “… I thought, man, this is the last great idea that I have. So, if this doesn't work, I don't know what will. And little by little it started working and started gelling and they started feeling comfortable.”
Bueckers, Nika Mühl and KK Arnold had to learn how to balance facilitating the ball while finding other areas on the court where they could be impactful without it in their hands. Arnold learned to control her pace, Mühl assumed her role as the team’s best defender and Bueckers, well, she did just about a little of everything.
The redshirt junior adapted to her role in the frontcourt and thrived. The change in position further unlocked parts of her game that grew and improved quickly throughout the season. She became a fierce blocker, competing alongside some of the nation’s best forwards and tall guards.
And perhaps the biggest shift for the Huskies star was that she learned to be selfish - something Auriemma has encouraged. Bueckers began to create her own shot, crash into the lane and find her open spots more than ever before. While her selflessness was always what made her such an excellent point guard, becoming comfortable with taking over is what’s made her one of the best all-around players of the game.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, right, celebrates the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, right, celebrates the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
Howard Lao/Associated Press
Bueckers is averaging career-high stats and is once again in conversation for Player of the Year. In UConn’s seven postseason games this spring (including three in Big East Tournament), she’s averaging 27.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.6 blocks in 37.9 minutes per game.
“She is incredible and she is unbreakable,” Mühl said. “And man, people doubt her, and she just keeps proving them wrong. And I don't know how her brain works. I don't know what's going on in her head. But it's really special. It's different. It’s simple, we have Paige and you don’t.”
But the Huskies were quick to learn that one player can’t do it all every game.
The Huskies’ 13-game winning streak came crashing down in late January. UConn lost 82-67 to longtime rival Notre Dame inside a sold-out Gampel Pavilion that included a crowd of some of the program’s greatest alumni.
“The Notre Dame loss just took a piece of my soul just the way everything worked out with alumni weekend, everybody was there, home court Gampel game and we just played terribly,” Bueckers said. “There was never a time where you really gave up hope, but times where you sort of question like how we're going to do it and how deep we're gonna have to dig to get it to get it done.”
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies looks on after her 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Paige Bueckers #5 of the Connecticut Huskies looks on after her 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
UConn didn’t have enough time to pick up the pieces before it lost 83-65 at top-ranked South Carolina 15 days later.
That’s why even after UConn finished the regular season undefeated in Big East play, many wondered just how this team would match up against national competition in the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies made quick work of Jackson State in the first round but that was the last they got a chance to breathe.
Syracuse, led by the NCAA’s third all-time leading scorer Dyaisha Fair, pressured UConn until the game’s final minutes. Mühl was able to contain Fair in the first half but fouled out after getting called for three fouls within 30 seconds early in the fourth quarter.
UConn had been in the same position against Notre Dame. With Mühl out, the Huskies lost all their steam and let go of their lead and the game.
But this time, Bueckers wasn’t going to let that happen.
The Hopkins, Minnesota native rose to the occasion. She took over guarding Fair while directed UConn’s offense on the other end. She made clutch shots and got her teammates involved. With 29 seconds left and Bueckers triple-teamed atop the key, she found Arnold out unguard on the wing for the dagger 3-pointer to win.
“We have the best player in America," Auriemma said about Bueckers after the game. "Just saying that because the numbers, in this world of analytics, the numbers say that she is and the whole stat sheet says that she is and everybody that watched knows it.”
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, left, and guard Paige Bueckers celebrate the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards, left, and guard Paige Bueckers celebrate the win over Southern California in an Elite Eight college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Howard Lao)
Howard Lao/Associated Press
Saturday’s Sweet 16 against Duke was just as close, except neither team played exceptionally well. Both the Huskies and Blue Devils’ defense prevented the other from going on deep runs. Yet, neither consistently capitalized on the other end.
UConn got up by 20 before the Blue Devils made one last attempt to crawl back and brought it within five with two minutes left. Despite playing with four fouls, Aaliyah Edwards made a huge jumper and rebound in the final 20 seconds to seal the win and send the Huskies to the Elite Eight.
Monday proved to be another, third-straight battle. This time against a USC team riding its best season in 30 years led by freshman phenom JuJu Watkins. Watkins entered Monday’s Elite Eight ranked No. 2 in the nation in averaging 27.0 points per game.
It was a tall task. Many didn’t believe the Huskies still had energy, let alone enough to really, truly compete.
And maybe it was the adrenaline or the nerves of playing in such a big game, but UConn, for the first time in a long time, appeared poised throughout the full 40 minutes. Even when USC tied the game five times and even when four Huskies got into foul trouble, the team still appeared in control and calm.
Bueckers did her thing. She sparked runs when UConn needed them and made the hardest shots look easy. She and Mühl slowed down Watkins (who still scored 29) and found their open teammates down the stretch. The bench, as depleted as it is, also stepped up and wasted no time contributing on either side of the ball.
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Aaliyah Edwards #3 of the Connecticut Huskies yells while lifting the Portland 3 Regional Championship trophy after her team's 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 01: Aaliyah Edwards #3 of the Connecticut Huskies yells while lifting the Portland 3 Regional Championship trophy after her team's 80-73 win against the USC Trojans in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on April 01, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
As soon as the final buzzer went off, all 14 UConn players swarmed the court, grabbing each other into bear hugs and tight embraces. Many cried tears of joy, exhaustion and relief.
Confetti covered the court at Moda Center while a handful of UConn alumni stood in the crowd joining in on the celebration (including Evina Westbrook, Asjha Jones and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis) hugging coaches and team staff.
Edwards yelled out to the sideline: “We’re not done yet!” And repeated herself moments later into microphones as she walked off the postgame media podium alongside Bueckers and Mühl.
“This group is very special,” Mühl said. “We overcame so much and learned from it, not just overcame it. Although a lot of people didn't believe we were ever going to do this, we did. Don't get me wrong, we don't really care what other people think. At the same time, it feels really, really good to prove those people wrong.”
Earlier this week, Auriemma compared his team making, and winning, the Sweet 16 as miraculous as childbirth.
On Monday, standing in someone else’s clothes after his got soaked with a water bath from the team in the postgame locker room, the Hall of Fame coach was asked about making the Final Four.
“It’s a miracle. That is honest to God man, I cannot believe that. I can't believe that this is actually happening,” Auriemma said. “I had no idea. If you'd told me three weeks ago, ‘What are you doing April 5, 6, 7th?’ I’d say, ‘I'm gonna go to Florida, play a couple of days of golf and then relax a little bit.’ I'm going to Cleveland instead.”
