What to watch in women’s Final Four
The NCAA women’s tournament field has finally been narrowed to four teams.
Top-seeded South Carolina, Stanford and Louisville all validated the selection committee’s rankings, while No. 2-seeded Connecticut beat No. 1 North Carolina State to reach its 14th consecutive Final Four, keeping a record streak alive.
Here’s what watch with the games set to tip off Friday night”
Louisville vs. S. Carolina
ESPN, 5 p.m.
This is a matchup of No. 1 seeds and, as such, should be a meeting of equals. But the Gamecocks have been ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll all season and have lost only twice. Louisville, a perennial tournament contender for the past decade under coach Jeff Walz, is fighting for its first title — and for the respect the players feel they still haven’t received.
South Carolina enters the game with its coach, Dawn Staley, and its best player, 6-foot-5 junior forward Aliyah Boston, having just picked up the Naismith coach and player of the year awards. Boston earned her trophy the hard way, muscling past opponents around the basket, fighting for rebounds and blocking shots.
The Cardinals can match her size with senior forward Liz Dixon and sophomore starter Olivia Cochran, but their ability to compete with Boston’s finesse and strength — her refined footwork and ability to continue playing through contact — will be tested.
Louisville’s best player is 5-7 sophomore guard Hailey Van Lith, who has spent the tournament scoring prolifically. Van Lith has made 47% of her shots from the field in tournament play, even though she rarely has an open look and is smaller than most of her opponents.
She’ll go head-to-head with South Carolina senior Destanni Henderson, who is not only dangerous from behind the 3-point line but also an excellent defender. This is likely Henderson’s last shot at a title before she enters the WNBA draft.
Van Lith has made it clear that she and the Cardinals will be playing like the underdogs Vegas believes them to be (South Carolina is favored by 8 points).
Uconn vs. Stanford ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Defending champion Stanford gas just one more obstacle to competing for their first repeat title: the Uconn Huskies, the team that has won more back-to-back championships than any other in D-I women’s college basketball. Stanford returned all but one starter from its title team, but it will need its veterans to perform at their best against the Huskies — specifically, sophomore phenomenon Paige Bueckers
The Huskies and Cardinal both had overwhelming support from their crowds during the round of 8. Connecticut effectively had homecourt advantage in Bridgeport, while Stanford played in Spokane, Wash., where teammates and twin sisters Lexie and Lacie Hull grew up.
In Minneapolis, Connecticut will likely have the louder cheering section thanks to Bueckers, who played at Hopkins High School in the Minneapolis suburbs. The Cardinal haven’t played without the fans on their side in the tournament, and in what looks to be a tight game, that support could give the Huskies an edge.
Stanford’s 6-4 Cameron Brink and Connecticut’s 6-5 Olivia Nelson-ododa are both athletic post players who move well around the basket to score and rebound, block shots and find their teammates to facilitate a quick offense.
They also both get into foul trouble often.
Both Stanford and Connecticut are capable of applying intense defensive pressure, and Brink and Nelson-ododa will both have to stay patient as they maneuver for open looks around the basket.
Stanford, which enters the game with the longest active winning streak of any D-I women’s team — 24 straight— has the size advantage. Even its guards are tall and can find shots against the most diligent defenders. Because Connecticut is just as skilled, the Cardinal will need to exploit whatever mismatches they can find — even 6-1 Haley Jones versus 5-11 Bueckers.
If Jones and Bueckers guard each other during Friday’s game, it could make for one of the best pairings of the tournament.
The Stanford and Connecticut coaches, Tara Vanderveer and Geno Auriemma, are the winningest and second-winningest coaches in women’s college basketball history.