UConn women the pride of Connecticut

The thing about sustained greatness in sports is it tends to fade into the background. It becomes expected, and anything less is considered a disappointment. This is where the UConn women’s basketball team has found itself for going on 30 years now.

But there was no ignoring what happened Monday night in Bridgeport. In one of the best, most closely contested NCAA tournament games anyone can remember, UConn earned a bid to its 14th consecutive Final Four, extending its own record, over N.C. State. This was basketball played at an exceptionally high level, with two deserving teams going at it for 50 minutes, and the only shame was that only one team could advance.

That team, as usual, represents the University of Connecticut.

The numbers are well-known by now, which is why it can all seem like so much background noise. There are the 11 national championships, more than any other team, all since 1995. There are the long winning streaks and the unending stream of allAmerican players. Maybe most amazing is that the team has gone almost three decades since it lost back-to-back games, a streak considerably older than anyone currently on the team.

But something has changed through all those years and all that winning — the rest of the country has caught up. There was a time when a small handful of teams had the capacity to win a championship in a given year, and everyone else was playing for pride. Those days are over. There are more great teams and more top players than ever before, and even middling teams are capable of knocking off the giants on a given night.

Consider UConn’s secondround NCAA tournament game against Central Florida this year. Twenty years ago, a game in that round would be a 30-point blowout, the opponents lucky to be on the same court as UConn. This year, it was anyone’s game, and the Huskies had to fight hard to advance, 52-47. Tough as it was, though, UConn persevered, as usual.

The constants are coach Geno Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey, who have been there through all the dominance. The players come and go, from Rebecca Lobo to Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi to Azzi Fudd, Swin Cash to Paige Bueckers. What they have in common, besides basketball greatness, is the pride they bring to their university, and to the state of Connecticut. They’re simply a joy to watch.

The season isn’t over, of course. UConn now heads to the Final Four to take on its toughest challenge of the season, where the best teams in the country await. The Huskies haven’t won a national title since 2016, which is an eternity for some fans, even as others understand how hard it is to do what once looked easy. There are a lot of good teams out there, and they all want to win just as much as we do.

Whatever happens this weekend, this era can’t last forever. The tenure of Auriemma and Dailey must come to an end someday. So, Husky fans, enjoy what we have. UConn basketball is the pride of our state, and the players and coaches are deserving of every accolade we send their way.

This was basketball played at an exceptionally high level, with two deserving teams going at it for 50 minutes, and the only shame was that only one team could advance.