Huskies relish the moment
Unusual Final Four not the pomp and circumstance Geno has come to expect
SAN ANTONIO — This year’s Final Four is not the pomp and circumstance that UConn coach Geno Auriemma comes to expect.
Not that it really matters now.
The top-seeded Huskies, back on women’s basketball’s biggest stage for the 13th consecutive tournament, are two steps from their ultimate goal. They will play No. 3 Arizona on Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Alamodome in the national semifinals.
“This has always been a dream of mine,” guard Evina Westbrook said,” playing on the biggest stage, competing for a national championship. To be in the Final Four, it’s almost surreal. Just being with the group of girls that I’m with now makes it even better.”
For Westbrook — a redshirt junior who sat out last season after transferring to Tennessee — and most of her teammates, this is a new experience, one worth savoring. Juniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa are the only two current Huskies to have played in a Final Four. Both were on the team that lost to Notre Dame in the 2019 national semifinals in Tampa, Fla.
This experience is nothing like that, of course, because of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. However, Williams and her teammates are still relishing the moment, embracing everything that comes with getting to this point.
“The NCAA has done a great job of trying to do everything that they possibly could for the Final Four,” Williams said. “Obviously it’s not like the Final Four from freshman year, but they’ve done a great job considering the circumstances.”
The Huskies visited the zoo on Wednesday, a welcomed opportunity to escape the monotony of the NCAA bubble. The next day, it was back to preparing for Arizona, a first-time entrant in the Final Four.
What’s impressed UConn coach Geno Auriemma most about the Wildcats is their defensive intensity. Arizona is 13th in the country in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 55.2 points per game.
UConn ranks fourth (52.0).
“Arizona is a perfect example of a team that really understands who they are, they know what their identity is, they know defensively what they can do, what they want to do, how to do it,” Auriemma said. “They’re aggressive. They just play so hard and they’re so competitive. They’re swarming.”
The Huskies will also be tasked with slowing down Pac-12 Player of the Year Aari McDonald, who’s averaging 20.3 points per game.
“She’s a great player,” Williams said. “She’s quick, she can shoot, she can get to the basket, she can create space for herself. She’s a handful, and we know that coming into the game. It’s going to take a total team defensive effort to contain her.”