The women’s Final Four is taking shape. Top-seeded UConn beat Notre Dame on Sunday to advance to its 25th Final Four. Fellow No. 1 seed UCLA then punched its ticket, rallying past Duke to reach its second straight appearance in the national semifinals.
ESPN had you covered for all of the action, with Kendra Andrews, Charlotte Gibson, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel on site at both regionals, providing keys to the game for each team in action.
How UConn won: The Huskies advanced to the women’s Final Four for the 25th time, winning their 54th game in a row. This would be an epic winning streak for other programs, but UConn’s best is more than twice that long (111). Still, this streak is part of another run for a perfect season, which would be UConn’s seventh if the Huskies finish it off in Phoenix.
But the Irish made the Huskies work for it. UConn’s 47 points entering the fourth period were its least through three quarters during its winning streak. But in the final period, the Huskies finally wore down the Irish, outscoring them 23-16.
Notre Dame was a much-improved squad in the last two months of the season, losing just three games after Feb. 1. When it played at UConn on Jan. 19, it lost 85-47. At least in the Elite Eight, the Irish gave the Huskies a real fight, despite the final 18-point margin.
Notre Dame junior Hannah Hidalgo gave her all offensively (22 points) and defensively (11 rebounds, eight on the defensive end, and three steals). She was all over the court trying to guard the Huskies. But personnel-wise, UConn just had too much firepower. Notre Dame ended the season 25-11.
No. 1 factor that helped the Huskies reach the Final Four: Depth really came through. The defense was very good, as it usually is. But it was a relatively quiet day for Azzi Fudd (13 points) while Sarah Strong was not necessarily superhuman (21 points on 6-of-13 shooting), although she was still the regional’s most outstanding player. But the Huskies still had what they needed to win. Freshman Blanca Quiñonez had 20 points, 12 coming in the first quarter when she set the tone for the Huskies. Sophomore Jana El Alfy played just seven minutes but made an impact with four points and four rebounds.
In all, the bench players — Quiñonez, El Alfy, Kayleigh Heckel and Allie Ziebell — had 32 of UConn’s 70 points. — Michael Voepel
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UConn downs Notre Dame to advance to the Final Four
UConn is heading to Phoenix for the Final Four after taking down Notre Dame.
How UCLA won: The Bruins won the game in the third quarter. After trailing at halftime for just the second time this season, UCLA outscored Duke 20-8 in the third period. It was the turning point for the Bruins, who regained their composure, and for senior center Lauren Betts, who finally looked comfortable on the court.
After scoring eight points in the first half, Betts finished with 23, her seventh 20-point game in the NCAA tournament, extending her record for the most in program history. She also became the first UCLA player with 20 points and five blocks in an NCAA tournament game, as well as the first player with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a game in the Elite Eight or later since Brittney Griner did it in the 2012 national championship game.
Angela Dugalic (15 points) was the only other UCLA player in double figures. And UCLA, which was shooing 37.2% on 3-pointers entering the game, was 2-for-14 (14%) from beyond the arc Sunday.
No. 1 factor that helped the Bruins reach the Final Four: UCLA’s dominance in the paint is its identity. The Bruins scored at least 50 paint points in all four of their tournament games so far, including 54 against Duke. It was their 26th game this season with at least 40 paint points, matching UConn and South Carolina for the most in Division I.
It’s not just Betts who makes UCLA so good down low. The Bruins’ guards’ get downhill and cut to the basket. UCLA is one of the tallest teams in the country and their frontcourt dominance will continue to be the Bruins’ identity as they head back to the Final Four. — Kendra Andrews
