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Mechelle VoepelespnW.com
TAMPA, Florida – They represent the best of women's basketball for many years. All their meetings are meant to give the impression not of a match, but of an event. Thus, at their 50th meeting on Friday in the Women's Final, we expected a full show.
This was not the case in the first half, as both teams fought on the offensive. But UConn and Notre Dame usually deliver, and they did it in the second half. The Huskies won up to nine points in the fourth quarter, but the Irish came back to impose 81-76, as UConn was heartbroken in the semifinal for the third year in a row.
The champion of Notre Dame Brianna Turner, who had to sit last season following an injury to the ACL suffered during the 2017 NCAA tournament, has turned out to be huge. She had to watch the Irish win the national championship last year, but she is in the forefront of the Irish attack this season. And she had a brilliant match Friday by becoming the best weight blocker of her school with 371.
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Turner finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, including a key block against Napheesa Collier of UConn at the last minute.
"My only state of mind was that the UConn season was to end tonight, no matter how long it took," Turner said.
This was the case, but the Irish attack had to be won in the fourth quarter as it looked like the Huskies had taken control, up nine points at 7:52. Our Lady can mark as lightning can hit: suddenly and often. The Irish did it.
Our Lady climbed from 76 to 73 with 58.3 seconds to go. After Turner blocked Collier's shot, Arike Ogunbowale – the hero of the national championship team last year – then headed to the line and made both shots francs to give a score of 78 to 73 to the Irish. Katie Lou Samuelson of UConn missed the match and Turner got the rebound. She missed one of her shots, however, and UConn called the timeout with 23 seconds to go, 79-73.
Samuelson missed another pointer and Turner sealed the win with two free throws.
"It was frustrating because we were sometimes in a bad defense and Katie Lou had a great second half," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw.
Turner was the key to the defense. And the offensive went well, with Ogunbowale leading with 23 points. Jessica Shepard was 20 years old, Marina Mabrey 12 years old and Jackie Young 11 years old.
Samuelson finished the match with 20 points, all in the second half. Necklace had 15 points and 13 rebounds. They ended their career in the all-time top five at UConn in scoring, but they only won one NCAA title in the first year. And Samuelson, who was injured in the semifinals in 2016 and could not compete in the finals that year, ends his career without having ever had the chance to play in a national championship game.
"All American kids want to be rewarded by qualifying for the Final Four," said Geno Auriemma, UConn coach, about Collier and Samuelson. "So for me, it's the fact that no matter what happens this weekend, these two end their career exactly as they should, and I'm really grateful for that."
But certainly, especially after winning nine points in the fourth quarter, Auriemma and the Huskies must be very bitterly disappointed. The Irish always lead the all-time series with a 37-13 record, but Notre Dame is 5-3 against UConn at the Women's Final.
Neither team had a good shot in the first quarter. UConn was 35% and Notre Dame 30%. Ogunbowale did not score in opening, after which the Huskies led 16-12.
The Irish opened the second quarter on a 6-0 record, forcing Auriemma to make a save. The rest of the quarter was a battle between two normally good fouls that did not play well.
Turner had his second foul with 5:59 left in the second quarter and went on the bench, which dealt a blow to the defense of Notre Dame.
Christyn Williams, who burned Notre Dame for 28 points in the 89-71 Huskies win at Notre Dame on December 2, hit a drummer just before half-time, scoring a 30-29 win for UConn. Both teams had difficulties on the field in the first half, the Huskies with 36.1% and the Irish with 35%. They were particularly cold behind the bow, combining 3 of 25.
Samuelson, who scored seven goals to three in the Huskies' win over Louisville in the Albany Regional Finals, scored a 0-4 in the long-run and was goalless in the first half.
Samuelson scored UConn's first points in the second half, finishing the third quarter with 15 points, including three free throws and a second left. This allowed the Huskies to climb 54-52 in the fourth quarter.
But with such a strong attack and a defense led by Turner, the Irish triumphed again.
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