The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Huskies No. 1 overall seed for tournament for 13th time
STORRS —Crystal Dangerfield might have been dealing with a sense of déjà vu as she saw the names of the other 63 teams competing in the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament pop up on the television screen on Selection Monday.
Just like in 2017, UConn was undefeated and the No. 1 overall seed, but for Dangerfield her state of mind and level of confidence were in a different place than they were following an inconsistent freshman season.
“Watching the selections, last year was exciting because it was my first time,” Dangerfield said after the Huskies were selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the 13th time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1994. “It was still pretty exciting trying to see where everybody ends up, what the matchups will be. You don’t want to look too far ahead but you find yourself doing that a few times.”
UConn will host Northeast Conference tournament champion Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday at 11 a.m. With a win, it would play either Miami (Fla.) or Quinnipiac in the second round on Monday.
Dangerfield, still dealing with the shin splints that forced her to miss practice time for much of her sophomore season, will be front and center as the Huskies look for their record 11th straight Final Four appearance. She still has memories from her lone Final Four experience, and there aren’t a host of pleasant recollections as she was glued to the bench in the latter stages of the Huskies’ loss to Mississippi State in the 2017 national semifinals.
“I put some of the blame on myself because if I could have helped, I would have obviously. But the whole year, I didn’t give Coach (Geno Auriemma) a reason to trust me that late in the game,” Dangerfield said.
What about now? “The months leading up to the tournament, I had better practices, better games, so there is something I know I can fall back on if necessary,” Dangerfield said.
Every UConn player took the loss to Mississippi State to heart, but Dangerfield was more devastated after the game than many of her teammates. She vowed to be ready physically and emotionally. Auriemma saw the difference almost immediately.
“It happened before we left for Europe so it was more of her attitude was different, her approach was different, the
way she carried herself was different, the way the other kids on the team responded, it just was different,” Auriemma said. “It was like, ‘I am the point guard and I am going to do what I am going to do.’ Last year she was walking
around going I don’t know what to do so I am not going to do anything.”
UConn (32-0), ranked first in the final Associated Press poll for the 15th time, will be playing at least one NCAA tournament game in the state of Connecticut for the 29th time.
The only time all of the Huskies’ NCAA tourney games were played outside of Connecticut came during the 2009-10 season when the subregionals were held in Norfolk, Va., the regionals in Dayton, Ohio, and the Final Four in San Antonio.
UConn is 55-4 in NCAA tournament games played in Connecticut and has won 26 in a row. At Gampel Pavilion, UConn has won 38 in a row and has a 40-2 career record.
If UConn reaches the Final Four, it would not only extend the Huskies’ record for consecutive Final Four appearances to 12, but Auriemma would move past Pat Summitt to set the tournament record for most games coached.
While UConn can’t meet Mississippi State until the national championship game, the Huskies could meet reigning national champion South Carolina in the Albany regional final. The Gamecocks are the No. 2 seed in UConn’s bracket, Florida State and Georgia are seeded fourth.
Quinnipiac will meet Miami in the first round. In last year’s tournament, the Bobcats were sent to the subregional hosted by Miami. After upsetting Marquette in the first round, Quinnipiac beat the host Hurricanes to advance to the regionals for the first time.
This is the third time in the last four tournaments that the NEC tournament winner was matched up with UConn in the first round and the sixth time the NEC representative has drawn the Huskies.
“You look and say sometimes that is a game that should be regional,” Auriemma said. “Sometimes we get a team from Texas, Louisiana and Idaho and you go, ‘Come on, seriously, there must be somebody in the neighborhood that they can bus up here.’ At the same time, kids getting on a plane, playing UConn at Gampel Pavilion, playing somebody that you just watch on television, that is a cool thing, so there is a purpose for everything.”