On Monday night, a trip to Dallas, TX for the Women’s Final Four is at stake. #1 seeded Uconn Huskies take on #10 seeded Oregon Ducks.
How they got here:
Uconn Huskies
What a history making year it has been for the Uconn Huskies. The four-time defending champions are riding an unprecedented 110 straight wins coming into Monday’s Regional final. UConn (35-0) clinched their 12th straight trip to the NCAA Elite Eight on Saturday after knocking off UCLA 86-71 in Bridgeport, CT. Sophomore Napheesa Collier led the team with 27 points and 14 rebounds, both NCAA Tournament career-highs, for her 15th double-double of the season. Sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson scored 15 points. She’s now six three-pointers away from breaking the UConn single-season record held by teammate Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (121).
”We like to say that to play with us it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” said Gabby Williams, who had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The victory tied Geno Auriemma with Pat Summitt for most NCAA Tournament victories. The two Hall of Fame coaches has 112 tournament victories.
Auriemma said when Ducks coach Kelly Graves got the job that they would be good.
“I remember when Kelly got the job. I told everybody in the coaching profession, I said, they’re going to be in the Final Four sooner than anybody thinks,” Auriemma told reporters Saturday afternoon.
UConn has not lost since the 2014 season, and only three games during that stretch have been decided by single digits.
Oregon Ducks:
Oregon got past No. 7 Temple 71-70 in the First Round, and then beat No. 2 Duke 74-65 in the next round. In the Elite Eight round vs #3 seeded Maryland, Oregon (23-13) would upset them by a final score of 77-63. Oregon’s offense was led by Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with 21 points.
“We’re just excited about everything,” Ionescu said. “None of our kids have experienced anything like this. So, I think we’re just excited to advance and be able to play another day and see where that takes us.”
These Ducks are a young team starting three freshmen. This is Oregon’s first regional final in program history.
Prediction:
Oregon beat an impressive Maryland team who averaged over 90 points per game. They were aggressive and forced the Terrapins into 21 turnovers in the game. These Ducks are looking to make history and pull off the most stunning upset of them all. However, Uconn will be too much for the Ducks in the end. The Ducks have flown 11,652 miles during the NCAA Tournament. You have to wonder how much mentality that may affect them. The home field advantage, facing a young team and getting everyone’s best throughout the season, Uconn should win this game as they seek their fifth straight National title.
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