Final thoughts
Well, Dawn Staley is being handed her trophy that’s as fine of a moment to wrap up on as any. The women’s tournament is over, but we still have the finale for the NCAA men’s tournament tomorrow between Kansas and North Carolina.
I’ll be back bringing you all the in-game action tomorrow, but this will end today’s liveblogging, however. Thanks to all who followed along with today’s coverage of South Carolina’s win over UConn in the women’s national championship game! Ciao!
Updated
Aliyah Boston is named the Final Four Outstanding Player, but only after being accidentally called “Aaliyah Edwards” by Holly Rowe.
And with that, the joke I made way at the beginning of this blog somehow ends up paying off. Reality plays the long game when it comes to comedy.
“Our path was divinely ordered,” says Staley, who has a flair for the dramatic.
However, it’s hard to argue with her after her tournament run.
They’re trying to collect the team for the trophy ceremony now. As tends to be the case, it’s a bit like herding cats.
Give Dawn Staley all the national championships. She seems like an unbelievable coach to play for.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) April 4, 2022
As usual, we’ll keep it here for just a bit longer for the postgame celebrations. They haven’t even cut down the nets yet.
Destanni Henderson, who scored 26 points in the contest, borrows Kevin Garnett’s “anything is possible!” cheer and I’m officially declaring this as a win for Boston the city as well as a win for Aliyah Boston.
It should be noted that, despite the end, this was an impressive run from a University of Connecticut team that fought through injuries and adversity just to get this far. That they lost to a better team in the final game of the season shouldn’t be held against them.
South Carolina wins!
South Carolina Gamecocks go wire-for-wire for their second title in program history.
Also, Geno Auriemma has lost in the championship game for the first time in his career.
UConn 49-64 South Carolina, FINAL
UConn 49-64 South Carolina, FINAL
UConn are just going to dribble this out. South Carolina has won the 2022 NCAA women’s basketball championship!
UConn 49-64 South Carolina, 39.3, fourth quarter
Boston hits two more free throws, but all that’s at stake here is the final margin. As South Carolina dribble out one of the few remaining possessions in the game, their fan contingency cheers them on.
UConn 49-62 South Carolina, 1:15, fourth quarter
Saxton hits a free throw. Williams finally scores for UConn, although it’s looking like too little, too late.
UConn 47-61 South Carolina, 1:58, fourth quarter
Another free throw line trip for South Carolina. This time, Bree Hall makes one to increase the Gamecocks lead. They’re two minutes away from a championship.
UConn 47-60 South Carolina, 2:32, fourth quarter
Saxton hits one of two free throws and seems to get the rebound but is instead called for an offensive foul.
UConn 47-59 South Carolina, 2:48, fourth quarter
South Carolina slow things down here, trying to take as much time off the clock as possible. Eventually, however, Nelson-Ododa fouls Henderson to end the possession. Henderson, however, is not going to miss these two free throws on her career night.
UConn 47-57 South Carolina, 3:18, fourth quarter
Azzi Fudd finally scores and it’s a three-pointer the Huskies desperately needed. Bueckers then gets one of her own and just like that it’s a ten point game. They are clinging to life.
And they take a timeout.
UConn 41-57 South Carolina, 4:20, fourth quarter
Boston actually did live in Massachusetts? Okay, yeah, she’s definitely now one of my favorite players ever. Henderson, however, is the real star here for South Carolina, as Boston finds her for a jumper that feels like it sealed this one.
And if it didn’t, her next layup just might have.
UConn 41-53 South Carolina, 5:10, fourth quarter
Boston is on the line now, making one of two of her free throws. We’re starting to get into the part of the game where a lot is going to come down to players making their freebies.
UConn 41-52 South Carolina, 6:13, fourth quarter
UConn need to stop the clock and score, so it’s good that Ducharme is on the line here. It’s less good that she misses both free throws. Time is not on their side. She does, however, make a layup on the next UConn possession.
UConn 39-52 South Carolina, 6:50, fourth quarter
Saxton gets to the line after a Westbrook foul, making both free throws.
UConn 39-50 South Carolina, 7:13, fourth quarter
Bueckers, who I don’t think is 100%, misses another jumper.
UConn 39-50 South Carolina, 7:54, fourth quarter
Henderson is definitely the star of the game. She puts up back-to-back layups to force another UConn timeout. Their time is, in fact, close to being out.
UConn 39-46 South Carolina, 8:56, fourth quarter
South Carolina travels on the first possession, giving Edwards the chance to start the fourth quarter scoring with a jumper that cuts into the Gamecock lead.
Updated
Henderson is leading all scorers with 16 points through the first three quarters. She’s looking like the game MVP if the Gamecocks hold on.
UConn 37-46 South Carolina, end of the third quarter
South Carolina desperately need a bucket here. Instead, Henderson misses a three and then, in the scrum for a rebound, gets called for a travel. UConn can now make this a one-possession game.
Instead, it’s another turnover. Bueckers fouls Henderson, who gets to the line and makes one of two free throws. She also scores on the other end after another impotent UConn offensive possession. That’s all the scoring for the third quarter. South Carolina have a nine point lead.
UConn scored two points in the first first minutes of this quarter. South Carolina should have run away with this game. They may soon rue the fact that they didn’t.
UConn 37-43 South Carolina, 1:18, third quarter
South Carolina have been doing everything right except getting the ball through the hoop. That’s exactly what I warned them not to do.
Westbrook hits UConn’s second straight three to cap off a 10-0 Huskies run that forces their opponents to use their timeout.
UConn 34-43 South Carolina, 2:03, third quarter
Oh hey, a second UConn basket. That’s a layup from Aaliyah Edwards, following a Bueckers assist. South Carolina doesn’t score on one end, they’re going through another cold snap, but Boston denies Ducharme on the other end.
Maybe she should have let it be. She instead goes back and hits UConn’s first three-pointer of the game.
UConn 29-43 South Carolina, 3:07, third quarter
Another Henderson steal, that’s the 12th UConn turnover. Bueckers, however, strips the ball n the other end. That’s the good news, now let’s see if they can convert at the basket… they cannot. (Although the officials might have missed a foul call here).
On the South Carolina end, Brea Beal picks up an offensive foul. That’s going to give the ball right back to UConn who once again can not score. Then, Beal picks up a third foul. Not the prettiest stretch of basketball.
Been something of a nonfactor here.
Azzi Fudd just doesn’t look comfortable on that court.
— Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) April 4, 2022
UConn 29-43 South Carolina, 4:47, third quarter
Oh man, it’s Henderson’s quarter apparently. She pulls of a steal and Cooke promptly scores for South Carolina.
Finally, UConn scores its first points of the game here. Bueckers hits a jumper, but now time might start be a factor here. The college game goes quick, after all. We head into a TV timeout.
UConn 27-41 South Carolina, 5:40, third quarter
Henderson is on the line and makes her free throws.
UConn 27-39 South Carolina, 6:19, third quarter
Another missed three for UConn, who has yet to connect from long distance this game. On the other end, Boston gets fouled and goes on the line for two free throws. She makes one of two, but once again South Carolina gets the rebound and once again they draw a foul. Methodical.
UConn 27-38 South Carolina, 7:18, third quarter
UConn ball, down 10. South Carolina’s defense smothers them once again. Bueckers prevents a fast-break layup by Cooke, but she does get fouled on the possession. She makes a free throw to extend the Gamecock lead.
Wet spot on the floor cleanup time! One of my favorite NCAA tournament traditions.
Oh, the announcers say it might be blood. That’s a bit less wacky and fun.
UConn 27-37 South Carolina, 9:06, third quarter
Boston gets to the basket and scores the easiest looking layup we’ve seen all day. South Carolina start the second-half scoring.
Second half begins!
UConn 27-35 South Carolina, 9:23, third quarter
UConn wins the jump ball. They get two shots at making a basket but neither go in.
Nothing like scheduling the women’s championship game at the same time as the Grammys and (apparently) Wrestlemania to make my Twitter timeline completely unintelligible. Forgive me if I accidentally post a tweet about, like, Silk Sonic here when I thought I was copy-and-pasting something about South Carolina’s impressive rebounding efforts (25 total to UConn’s 13).
How they’re doing so far:
Paige Bueckers: Nine points on 4-for-7 shooting alongside two rebounds.
Aliyah Boston: Five points on 2-for-6 shooting, plus five rebounds and an assist. She’s also getting a lot more help.
The hidden good luck charm behind that second quarter turnaround?
How desperate are things for UConn? Geno subs in Amari DeBerry, who's played in 15 games this season entering today. ONO has 2 fouls, Dorka Juhasz out with injury
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 4, 2022
Halftime thoughts
As advertised, South Carolina is the more talented team. As expected, Connecticut is not going away quietly. I still see the Gamecocks winning this one, perhaps even leading wire-to-wire, but they can’t afford to go on the kind of cold stretches they did in the second quarter. UConn will make them pay.
Me? I’m just glad that this is still a game. This could have been a laugher considering how it started.
End of the first half
UConn 27-35 South Carolina, end of the first half
Saniya Rivers is fouled by Ducharme, putting her on the line. She makes one of two free throws. There could have been worse outcomes for UConn. They have a shot at the last shot, but an offensive foul leads to one final turnover in the half.
Still, UConn are very much alive here after a less-than-ideal start.
UConn 27-34 South Carolina, 1:05, second quarter
Ducharme’s layup does, in fact, cut the South Carolina lead to single-digits as the Gamecocks have gone cold. A Westbrook lineup makes it a 9-0 UConn run until Henderson snaps it with a layup.
Bueckers, however, answers. It’s a seven-point game, somehow.
UConn 21-32 South Carolina, 2:08, second quarter
Without Boston on the court, South Carolina have been struggling, so they decide it’s time for her break to end.
UConn 21-32 South Carolina, 3:22, second quarter
Cooke misses but South Carolina is not missing any rebounds. Their scoring ability has started to wane a bit here and that could give UConn the chance to make up some difference before the half. Caroline Ducharme makes a layup here to get them closer to cutting this into the single-digits.
UConn are still in a hole, but there are signs that they are starting to claw their way out.
UConn 19-32 South Carolina, 4:47, second quarter
Bueckers is on the line after drawing a foul from Brea Beal. She makes one of two free throws, but UConn snag the rebound. They get several looks, but it’s nothing doing.
TV timeout time!
UConn 18-32 South Carolina, 5:18, second quarter
Cardoso hits a jumper for the Gamecocks, Nelson-Ododa makes a layup and then draws a charge that leads to a foul on Boston.
UConn 16-30 South Carolina, 6:31, second quarter
Some potential bad news for South Carolina: Bueckers is starting to heat up, hitting back-to-back jumpers to cut into her opponents’ lead.
UConn 12-30 South Carolina, 7:38, second quarter
There’s Bueckers, hitting a jumper to finally get the Huskies into double-digits. Kamilla Cardoso, in the game for the Gamecocks, promptly responds.
Okay, now this game is heating up offensively. Edwards hits a jumper that’s immediately answered by another Henderson three-pointer.
UConn 8-25 South Carolina, 9:03, second quarter
UConn turn the ball over on their first possession of the second quarter. Somehow, South Carolina don’t make them pay, but Westbrook does pick up a foul. After a bit of back and forth, Henderson hits a three to extend SC’s ridiculous lead.
According to the announcers, that was the fewest points that UConn has scored in a first quarter all year and I believe them.
UConn 8-22 South Carolina, end of the first quarter
Aliyah Boston gets to the line for a free throw after a foul on Nelson-Ododa, who promptly picks up her second of the game soon after. She also hits a jumper for South Carolina’s final score of a the first quarter.
Safe to say that SC won that quarter.
UConn 8-19 South Carolina, 1:16, first quarter
Back-to-back baskets for UConn courtesy of Evina Westbrook. Their bench is saving their skin here late in the first. For South Carolina, Laeticia Amihere is here to respond with a bucket of her own.
UConn 6-17 South Carolina, 2:27, first quarter
Cooke now has 8 points after a layup. Did I actually make a decent prediction? Nika Muhl, now in the game for UConn, makes a layup of her own on the other end.
Updated
UConn 4-15 South Carolina, 3:22, first quarter
Cooke finally misses, but her teammates are right there with a rebound. Henderson tries to push her way to the basket, but is stuffed by the UConn defense. On the other end, Nelson-Ododa finally breaks the scoreless streak with a jumper.
Unfortunately for her team, Saxton responds with one of her own.
Halfway through the first and Bueckers’ stat line is all goose-eggs. It won’t last, but it’s a credit to the Gamecocks’ focus.
UConn 2-13 South Carolina, 4:55, first quarter
Cooke with another jumper! She’s three-for-three. On the other end, UConn get called for a travel. Time for the first TV timeout.
UConn 2-11 South Carolina, 5:36, first quarter
UConn has the ball out of the timeout and they get the benefit of a whistle against Cooke, who picks up her first foul.
Unfortunately for them, they end up passing and passing and passing and nothing comes to it. Excellent defense from South Carolina.
Okay, I won’t lie, my prediction of a close game already feels like its on shaky grounds but I’ve learned as a basketball fan not to get too hung up on big early leads. It’s a marathon not a sprint.
UConn 2-11 South Carolina, 6:35, first quarter
Henderson finds Cooke for an easy basket and UConn have to call their first timeout way earlier than they were planning.
UConn 2-9 South Carolina, 6:47, first quarter
Oh, the Gamecocks are pouring it on early. Boston and Beal both make layups and the Huskies can’t get anything going offensively.
UConn 2-5 South Carolina, 7:39, first quarter
Zia Cooke puts South Carolina up 5-0 before Aaliyah Edwards responds with a layup of her own to put UConn on the board.
Opening tip
UConn 0-3 South Carolina, 9:34, first quarter
And we’re off! Henderson starts things off with a three-pointer for South Carolina.
Both teams are being introduced. Bueckers probably received the largest set of cheers, this sounds like a UConn-heavy crowd (which is understandable given their historical dominance).
Not for the squeamish: we get a montage of all of UConn’s injuries. It really is impressive that they managed to get this far.
National Anthem
I did not catch the name of the woman doing the anthem and I apologize. I also apologize for giving it a 4/10. The vocals were entirely too vibrate-y for my tastes.
South Carolina starting lineup
Destanni Henderson, G
Zia Cooke, G
Brea Beal, G
Victaria Saxton, F
Aliyah Boston, F
UConn starting lineup
Paige Bueckers, F
Azzi Fudd, G
Christyn Williams, G
Aaliyah Edwards, F
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, F
Updated
Alright, we’re almost at 8:00 pm on the East Coast, which means that at some point in the near-ish future, we are going to get actual basketball.
Email from Douglas Choate:
Haven’t seen one person predict UConn will win yet. I am going to be that guy. This team has resilience and heart and is coached by the absolute best. 3 #1 drafted players. They have overcome the odds so far. Paige Bueckers needs to show out tonight. If so, 61-60 UConn.
Oh yeah, no doubt about it: if Paige Bueckers is at her best, UConn can absolutely come up with the upset. It’s such a cliché to say that a player is a game-changer, but there’s a reason that those clichés exist.
Oh, one more prediction. With all the hype surrounding the two star players, it feels like there’s a good chance that one of their teammates ends up being the difference maker. I have South Carolina’s Zia Cooke having a breakout scoring game here, particularly if Boston gets smothered with defensive attention.
And we have entered the Geno Auriemma love. He’s gone 12-10 in the semifinals along with going 11-0 in championship games. If he wins as an underdog tonight, it will count as one of greatest accomplishments.
Predictions
Okay, it’s time for me to embarrass myself. Okay, as great as this UConn run has been, I see it ending right here.
South Carolina is the top seed for a reason and it doesn’t help that the Huskies’ best player might not be 100%. I’m going with South Carolina 70-64 UConn. As the score indicates, I don’t see South Carolina running and hiding tonight, but I think they emerge as champions in regulation.
Your predictions? Once again, you can email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or twet them to @HunterFelt and we’ll include them here early on.
Currently our pregame show is highlighting Aliyah Boston, as it should. I will also point out that UConn have a forward named Aaliyah Edwards. So there’s the potential of an Aliyah/Aaliyah showdown here.
Men’s Final Four
Okay, these heavily-hyped games never, ever, ever live up to the hype. Except when they do, as they did last night over at the men’s Final Four. In a see-saw affair where neither team could pull ahead, the Tar Heels finally triumphed. Not only did UNC end up spoiling Coach K’s final home game in the regular season they decided to finish the job in the NCAA tournament: they ended his career with an 81-77 victory that wasn’t assured until the game’s final minute. Here’s hoping that today’s game is of a similar caliber.
In tomorrow’s championship game, which we will also be liveblogging here at the Guardian, North Carolina will have to face a top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks team that just dispatched Villanova with a minimum amount of fuss in their Final Four game. It’s okay, they could literally not even show up to the game and count this tournament run as among one of the greatest accomplishments in school history. You only get one chance to end your rival’s career on the biggest stage possible.
Preamble
Welcome to what could be the most exciting possible championship game that could have emerged from the 2022 NCAA women’s field. On one hand, we have overall top-seed South Carolina, who will be starting the recently crowned AP National Player of the Year award. They will be facing No. 2 University of Connecticut, probably the most storied program in women’s college basketball. Somehow, UConn who hasn’t been to the women’s championship game since 2016, are the underdogs today even though they have sophomore Paige Bueckers who has been hailed as the Next Diana Taurasi.
Before we get into the marquee matchup, let’s not that these are two great programs headed by two great coaches. For South Carolina, it’s about Dawn Staley, who coached Team USA to a gold medal in the last summer Olympics. UConn, of course, continues to be run by the legendary Geno Auriemma. Neither has lost in a championship game, although Auriemma has won eleven to Staley’s lone victory.
While head coaches often take center stage in the NCAA tournament, sometimes games come down to the opposing team’s stars. Hence, we have this matchup between UConn’s Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston. This will be just the second NCAA tournament game where the last two Naismith Award winners will face off each other and it will be the first time ever in the women’s tournament.
Aliyah Boston and Paige Bueckers have taken home the last two Naismith Awards.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 3, 2022
Tonight's championship game will be the second NCAA Tournament game, women's or men's, between former Naismith winners, along with a 2009 Elite 8 match-up featuring Blake Griffin and Tyler Hansbrough. pic.twitter.com/b3KGTrHV6X
Against Louisville in their Final Four matchup, Boston scored a game-high 23 points in South Carolina’s win over the similarly top-seeded Louisville Cardinals. Meanwhile, Bueckers helped guide the Huskies in their upset over No. 1 Stanford Cardinal, scoring 14 points while playing through a leg injury suffered during the game. (Needless to say, we’ll be keeping an eye on how she looks over the next few hours.)
As always, we want to hear from you. Send us your questions, commentary and predictions—either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt—and we’ll include them here throughout today’s game.
It’s the NCAA women’s basketball final between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Target Center. The opening tip is scheduled at 8:00 pm EST, although I wouldn’t set a timer on that, we’ll be back well before then however.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how the Final Four panned out:
Paige Bueckers scored 14 points and UConn advanced to the national championship game with a 63-58 win over defending champion Stanford on Friday night.
The Huskies will face South Carolina for the national championship on Sunday.
It’s UConn’s first trip to the championship game since 2016, when the Huskies won the last of four straight championships. Since then, the team has suffered heartbreaking defeats in the national semi-finals, losing twice in overtime.
UConn (30-5) will be seeking their 12th national championship, and the Huskies have never lost in an NCAA title game.
They had to work to get to the finals. Leading by 52-44 with 1:26 left, Stanford made a furious rally thanks to a few costly UConn turnovers.
Elsewhere, Aliyah Boston had 23 points and 18 rebounds to back up her AP National Player of the Year award and carry South Carolina to the NCAA championship game with a victory over Louisville.
Brea Beal matched her season high with 12 points and helped hold Cardinals star Hailey Van Lith to nine points on 4-for-11 shooting as the Gamecocks (34-2) delivered another stifling defensive performance.
Coach Dawn Staley will try to win her second national championship, eight months after the Hall of Famer led the US Olympic team to a gold medal in the Tokyo Games.
Destanni Henderson scored 11 points with 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range and had four assists for South Carolina, which improved to 13-0 this season against AP-ranked opponents.
Emily Engstler led Louisville (29-5) with 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cardinals went 1 for 8 from three-point range and were never able to find a rhythm in the half court against the No 1 overall seed in this tournament. The Cardinals were the only team in this Final Four without a title.
Haley Jones led the Cardinal (32-4) with 20 points.
