No. 1 UConn women advance to NCAA Final Four with thrilling 69-67 victory over Baylor in San Antonio.
Huskies take Baylor’s best shot but hold on to earn 13th straight trip to the Final Four
San Antonio — Of all the UConn streaks, of all the program's history in all the seasons, the top-seeded Huskies advanced to an unheard of
13th straight Final
Four on Monday night in a breathless 69-67 victory over No. 2 Baylor at the Alamodome.
In a game between two of the most storied women's basketball programs in NCAA tournament history, Huskies vs. Bears, the night was worthy of a national championship, coming down to the final seconds, but was only being played for the privilege of advancing to the Final Four.
Baylor (28-3) was the reigning national champion, beating Notre Dame for the 2019 title before last season's tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
UConn (28-1) has made the Final Four every season since 2008, winning six national championships during that time. The Huskies fell to LSU 73-50 in the 2007 Elite Eight in Fresno, California.
Paige Bueckers had 28 points and Christyn Williams 21 for UConn. Evi
na Westbrook had 11 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
UConn will remain in San Antonio to meet either Indiana or Arizona on Friday in the national semifinals.
UConn led 68-63 on a fast break basket by Williams, started by a block on the other end by freshman Aaliyah Edwards, but Baylor scored four straight points on free throws to pull within 68-67 with 19.3 seconds to go.
Williams then missed two free throws with 18 seconds to play, prompting a Baylor timeout and one final possession. Baylor's DiJonai Carrington, who led the Bears with 22 points, came down the floor and ran smack into Edwards, who blocked her shot.
Williams got the defensive rebound and was fouled by NaLyssa Smith. This time, with .8 seconds left on the clock, Williams hit one of two free throws and Bueckers stole a desperation inbounds pass near midcourt to ice the victory.
The game's first quarter was played at more the pace of an Indy 500, with UConn leading 26-24.
The Huskies led 16-4, with Edwards driving and hitting an off-balance layup. Baylor started its comeback slowly, at first, with one free throw by Moon Ursin, but the Bears would finish with a 10-0 run to pull within 1614, meanwhile Edwards picked up her second foul and left the game in favor of Aubrey Griffin.
Baylor tied the game at 28 on a layup by Ursin and took its first lead at 34-33 on a jump shot by Carrington. UConn led 37-34 on a pair of free throws by Bueckers, but Baylor scored the final five points of the half, all by Carrington, to lead 39-37.
Carrington, the Big 12 Sixth Person of the Year, had 14 first-half points for the Bears and Ursin had 10. Smith had eight rebounds.
Bueckers had 13 points at halftime for UConn and Westbrook 11. Nelson-Ododa had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Edwards played just eight minutes in the half.
In the third quarter, Baylor pushed the lead to double figures at 55-45 on a jump shot by Ursin, but UConn scored the final eight points of the third on a drive by Bueckers and consecutive 3-pointers by Williams and Bueckers to carve the margin back to two at 55-53.
UConn turned that 8-0 run to a 190 run by scoring the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, making it 64-55 on a reverse layup by Williams. Edwards first gave the Huskies the lead back at 55-53 with an offensive rebound and Bueckers responded with a jump shot, followed by a Bueckers 3-pointer and Williams' reverse. Baylor was charged with two offensive fouls during that span.
Baylor's Smith scored with 6:47 remaining to end the run, setting up the furious finish.
The last time the teams met, Jan. 9, 2020, at the XL Center, Baylor beat UConn 74-58, dominating inside.
Things changed for both teams since then — namely the addition of eight new players to UConn's roster, seven freshmen, including Bueckers, who is a national player of the year finalist — but this year's regular-season matchup between them was canceled when Baylor coach Kim Mulkey was diagnosed with COVID-19. That game, which would have given both teams an idea of where they stood, was scheduled to be played Jan. 7 at Baylor.