Ladies & the champ
Women’s Final Four features battles of high-seeded teams
Three superpowers of the sport and one upstart have advanced to the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, setting up a boffo weekend in women’s college basketball. Here’s a look at Friday’s national semifinals:
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 1 South Carolina
6 p.m., ESPN Line: Stanford -5.5 Matchup to watch: C Aliyah Boston vs. C Cameron Brink. Boston, South Carolina’s sophomore allAmerican, is capable of dominance — she averages a double-double (13.8 points, 11.4 rebounds) and had a triple-double with blocks earlier this season. Brink, a rangy 6-foot-4, counters with length and must make Boston chase her in transition.
Number to know: 50. That’s how many 3-pointers Stanford has through four games, not an aberration for the country’s sixth-best perimeter shooting team. South Carolina has just 15 made 3s through its tourney run.
Stanford wins if ... its shooting doesn’t horribly revert, and the Cardinal throw enough different bodies and looks at Boston to disrupt her.
South Carolina wins if ... Dawn Staley’s squad slows down the pace and turns this into a game of defensive attrition — then gets a few clutch buckets from guard Zia Cooke.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 3 Arizona
9:30 p.m., ESPN Line: UConn -13.5 Matchup to watch: PG Paige Bueckers vs. PG Aari McDonald. Bueckers is UConn’s latest phenom, becoming the first freshman to win national player of the year while leading the team in points, assists and clicks. In McDonald, a senior, Arizona has a nearly ideal antidote — a terrific on-ball defender who’s no scoring slouch herself (31 points in the Sweet 16, 33 in the Elite Eight).
Number to know: 24. In 2017-18, Adia Barnes’ second season as coach, Arizona went 6-24 (UConn under Geno Auriemma has 23 losses ... since the start of the 2007-08 season). The Wildcats’ turnaround has been remarkable.
UConn wins if ... the supporting cast — guards Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook, bigs Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards — stays out of foul trouble and the talent and size disparity take over.
Arizona wins if ... McDonald has a scorching shooting night, and the defense keeps UConn under 70.