NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
NO. 2 UCONN VS NO. 3 OHIO STATE
When: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET
What: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Where: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
Records: UConn (31-5), Ohio State (27-7)
TV: ABC
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WGCH 1490 AM (Greenwich), WAVZ 1300 AM (New Haven), WATR 1320 AM (Waterbury), 97.9 FM-ESPN
KEEP AN EYE ON
Seattle connections: The UConn women’s basketball team begins the next leg of the road to Dallas across the country in Seattle.
The No. 2 seeded Huskies face No. 3 Ohio State in Saturday’s Sweet 16 at Climate Pledge arena for a chance to advance to Monday’s Elite Eight.
UConn advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating No. 7 Baylor Monday night 77-58 in the Second Round in Storrs. The Huskies beat No. 15 Vermont 95-52 last Saturday in the first round.
Saturday’s Sweet 16 will have its share of UConn connections.
For starters, the game will be played at the home of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm – a franchise often referred to as ‘UConn West.’
Thirteen former Huskies have played for Seattle throughout their WNBA careers with the most notable being Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, of course. Bird spent all 20 years of her WNBA career in Seattle before retiring this fall, while Stewart spent the first seven of hers with the Storm before most recently signing a new contract with the New York Liberty.
Bird’s No. 10 Storm jersey will officially be hung in the rafters inside the arena this June
Seattle drafted former Husky Evina Westbrook in the second round of last year’s WNBA Draft before waiving her prior to the start of the regular season. Currently, the Storm signed free agent Kia Nurse in February, and while Gabby Williams (who played for Seattle last season) is also a free agent but has yet to make a decision about if she’ll return to the Storm for this upcoming year.
The other main connection on Saturday involves current graduate forward Dorka Juhász.
Juhász spent the first three years of her collegiate career at Ohio State before transferring to UConn in the spring of 2021. In Columbus, Juhász averaged 13 points and 9.6 rebounds as a starter for the Buckeyes.
The Hungarian faced UConn as a Buckeye both in 2018 (in Storrs) and in 2019 (in Columbus). UConn won both games, however; those matchups lit a fire under Juhász to want to challenge herself. So, after graduating early from Ohio State she decided to transfer to the Husky program to learn from the best and grow her game even more.
UConn is 6-0 all-time against Ohio State. The two last met in Columbus on Nov. 24, 2019, with the Huskies winning 73-62. The Buckeyes last visited Storrs on Nov. 11, 2018, losing 85-53 to UConn. Saturday will be the first time these teams meet in the NCAA Tournament.
About Ohio State: The Buckeyes advanced to Saturday’s Sweet 16 after defeating No. 6 North Carolina 71-69 in the second round and No. 14 James Madison (80-66) in the first round.
Taylor Mikesell led Ohio State with 17 points against the Tar Heels while three other starters finished in double figures. A jumper from Jacy Sheldon in the game’s final two seconds sealed the second-round win for the Buckeyes as they advanced to their second-straight Sweet 16
Last year, the Buckeyes were knocked out of the tournament in the Sweet 16 by Texas, 66-63. Ohio State is looking to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993 when it finished as runner-ups in the national championship game after falling to Texas Tech 84-82.
Ohio State finished the regular season fourth in the Big 10 standings before falling to Iowa in the Big 10 Tournament championship on March 5, 105-72.
UConn will have the size advantage Saturday as only four Buckeyes stand 6-foot-1 or taller. Meanwhile, UConn has seven active players at that height or taller.
Mikesell leads Ohio State with 17.2 points per game after starting her career at Maryland (2018-2020) then transferring to Oregon (2020-21) before arriving in Columbus. Taylor Thierry leads with 6.6 rebounds per game.