Connecticut is going back to the national championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Huskies kicked off the Final Four at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday by steamrolling Oregon State, 80-51, setting up a shot at a fourth title in as many years. They’ll face Syracuse in the national final on Tuesday night.
March Madness 2016: Connecticut rolls over Oregon State to reach national championship game
It wouldn’t be a national final without Geno Auriemma’s Huskies.
Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
All season, UConn (37-0) has been unbeatable. In fact, most of its games haven’t even been competitive. This one wasn’t, either, although the Beavers did everything they could to keep things relatively respectable.
The Huskies never trailed, scoring the game’s first five points and then building out methodically from there. They led by 11 points after one quarter, 21 after two, 23 after three and 29 at the end. It was never, ever close.
The entire rotation chipped in as their lead swelled. Moriah Tuck had 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and three-time AP Player of the Year Breanna Stewart seemed to barely break a sweat in posting 16 points on 7-of-10 from the field.
For a while, Oregon State (32-5) did a respectable job of scoring points. Opponents averaged a total of just 48 per game against UConn heading into the game, and at least the Beavers got a few baskets to fall. But it speaks to Connecticut’s top-to-bottom excellence that a team could push so hard in a Final Four game and wind up with so little, including 10 in the final quarter.
There was one dark spot for Connecticut. Freshman guard Katie Lou Samuelson, a starter and big-time prospect, suffered a broken foot bone. Heading into the title game, Geno Auriemma’s team will have to lean more heavily on bench guards Gabby Williams and Napheesa Collier. But UConn probably has the depth to move beyond Samuelson’s injury.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Syracuse entered the tournament as a No. 4 seed. The Orange have had a great run, but Connecticut is a different animal than anything they’ve seen so far. The Huskies will be an overwhelming favorite.
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