UConn-Baylor ended with a controversial no-call in women’s Elite Eight

The UConn Huskies’ streak of 12 consecutive Final Four appearances in the women’s NCAA tournament was on the line against No. 2 seed Baylor on Monday. These two programs already had plenty of history: the Huskies knocked off Baylor in the 2010 Final Four on their way to another national championship, but the Bears had won each of the last two meetings, both in the regular season. Add in that Baylor was still technically the reigning national champions as the winner of the 2019 tournament, and this game had the potential to be an instant classic.

Somehow, the game exceeded the hype. UConn erased a double-digit second half deficit to defeat Baylor, 69-67, in the Elite Eight. The Huskies are headed to their 13th straight Final Four, but the win comes with a controversial ending.

Baylor had the ball down one with under 10 seconds left when guard DiJonai Carrington ran a pick-and-roll to get to the basket. Carrington attempted a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds, but she was met by two UConn defenders who wouldn’t let her get a good look at the basket. There was a lot of contact on the play, but the refs didn’t call a foul.

Should the refs have sent Carrington to the free throw line? It sure looked like it.

Here’s a closer look at the contact on the final shot. Carrington appeared to get hit on the elbow, but the refs decided to swallow their whistles for much of the fourth quarter. In that sense, letting the players play was consistent with how the rest of the game was called.

Carrington tweeted about the play after the game:

Here’s another look at Carrington’s final attempt in picture form.

(Social image photos from Chris Jones // Chris Jones Foto)

Baylor endeared itself to viewers with such a gutsy effort throughout the game. Carrington finished the game with 22 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, but shot just 7-of-22 from the field. NaLyssa Smith added 14 points for the Bears, while Moon Ursin had 13 points.

LeBron James and Jared Dudley were among the NBA players who tweeted about Baylor’s final possession saying a foul should have been called.

The story for UConn was again Paige Bueckers, the super freshman who has been arguably the most outstanding player in the country all season. Bueckers finished with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting, while teammate Christyn Williams put up 21 points and seven rebounds in the win.

The Huskies are still dancing and will be the favorites to win it all. If an Elite Eight game is that intense, we can’t imagine how fun the conclusion of the women’s tournament is going to be.