Monday night 1-seeded UConn and 2-seeded Baylor went to battle for a spot in the Final Four. UConn was coming off a 92-72 victory over 5-seeded Iowa. Baylor defeated 6-seeded Michigan 78-75.
UConn has put together a phenomenal year, losing just 1 game and winning 27. They are led by the Big East Player of the Year, Paige Bueckers. Bueckers. Bueckers averaged 19.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
Baylor has also had a great year posting a 28-2 record. NaLyssa Smith averages 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, which are both team highs. Smith was perfect from the field against Michigan, scoring 24 points on 11-11 shooting from the field.
First Half
UConn came out of the gates hot in this one. They would go on a 10-0 run to give them an early 16-4 lead in the first quarter. Bueckers was on fire in the first, scoring 9 early points for UConn. Baylor wouldn’t be phased by the hot start by their opponents. They would fight back to only be down 2, 26-24, after the first quarter.
The second quarter saw both teams struggle to score. UConn turned the ball over 4 times in the second quarter. Baylor didn’t commit a single turnover in the second quarter. UConn turnovers were able to give Baylor a slight advantage and a 39-37 halftime lead after a highly competitive first half.
The first half saw two outstanding teams go to battle. UConn shot 48.4% from the field and 55.6% from deep but was held back by 8 first-half turnovers. Baylor shot 38.5% from the field and 40% from deep and was helped by making 7 of 11 free-throw attempts in the first. UConn held a slight rebound advantage in the first 22-21.
DiJonai Carrington had a huge first half for Baylor. Carrington scored 14 points and grabbed 3 rebounds off the bench in the first. Moon Ursin also had a big first-half scoring 10 points.
UConn star Bueckers scored 13 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in the first half. Evin Westbrook scored 11 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in the first half for UConn.
Second Half
Like UConn in the first quarter, Baylor would come out of the gates hot in the third quarter. They would extend their lead to 9 with 3:01 to play in the quarter. Then Baylor’s DiDi Richards would go down with an injury. After the Richards injury, UConn would go on a 9-2 run to end the third quarter. After 3 Baylor led UConn 55-53.
The quarter break would not end the 9-2 UConn run. UConn would extend that run to a 19-2 run to take a 64-55 lead in the fourth quarter with 7:13 to play. For the next 7 minutes Baylor fought back, ending the massive run and forcing a tight end to the game. Two Carrington free throws for Baylor would shrink UConn’s lead to just 68-67 with 20 seconds left. Baylor immediately fouled UConn’s Christyn Williams. Williams missed both and gave Baylor a chance to win the game. Carrington attempted a contested mid-range jumper with 5 seconds left that would not fall. UConn would escape with a 69-67 victory.
Bueckers was fantastic in this game for UConn. She scored 28 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in the win. Williams scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the win.
Carrington led the way for Baylor. She scored 22 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists off the bench. Smith scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the loss.
With the win UConn advanced to their 13th consecutive Final Four where they will face 3-seeded Arizona. Arizona defeated 4-seeded Indiana to advance to the Final Four.
