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The Connecticut No.1 extended his consecutive Final Four streak to 13 in a regional final with the tenacity of a national championship game. The Huskies came back from a 10-point deficit and held final possession defensively to defeat defending champion and No.2 seed Baylor, 69-67.
Baylor’s DiJonai Carrington had four straight free throws and shot the Bears in one, 68-67, with 20 seconds left. Christyn Williams, fouled on the inbound play, missed both free throws for UConn to set up a final Baylor attempt.
The Bears went to their hot hand at Carrington, who had 22 points off the bench, but Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Edwards were there for UConn to stuff the shot, even though it looked like a foul on the replay.
Paige Bueckers scored 28 points, a game-high, and had three of seven 3-point attempts. She added three rebounds and three interceptions, but no help as the Bears stopped them defensively. The Huskies have only had nine team assists and 13 turnovers, mostly knocking down teammates down the pitch in transition.
Another of UConn’s phenomenal freshmen, Aaliyah Edwards, had seven rebounds and three blocks. Nelson-Ododa had five and the team had 10.
Huskies take lead in round 19-0
The Huskies regained the lead with a 19-0 run after reigning National Defensive Player of the Year DiDi Richards left the game with an apparent hamstring injury. They were trailing by 10, their biggest deficit of the tournament, when Richards stopped contactless on a drive to the basket. Richards, with a spinal injury and paralysis, returned, but quickly returned to the bench and did not return.
This opened up room for Bueckers, who after a Baylor bucket started the charge on an assist from striker Olivia Nelson-Ododa. It was the team’s first assisted basket since the first quarter. Williams, who finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Bueckers each hit 3 points to head into the third quarter by two. UConn equalized on free throws from Williams and took the lead on a layup by Edwards one minute after the fourth.
Baylor made costly turnovers while missing offensive layups and free throws. The Bears came within three, but missed a layup to cut it. UConn rookie Aaliyah Edwards secured the block on the next shot attempt and Williams folded in a bucket in transition to come up five with less than a minute to go. It was just enough.
UConn and Baylor set the pace for the title match
UConn took the lead from the 16-4 start and Baylor responded with their own 10-0 run. UConn twice built a six-point lead in the first quarter, and the Bears responded each time to be within two. The Huskies led, 26-24, at the break with transition points and their combined 50 points were the highest in the first quarter of the entire tournament.
The pace slowed down in the second quarter, but the block party heated up. They combined for six blocks in the second of 11 combined in the first half. They came from five different players, none larger than DiJonai Carrington’s on Williams two minutes into the game.
NaLyssa Smith collected a rebound from a subsequent attempt and found Moon Ursin to tie the game for the first time. Smith, a National Player of the Year, finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Ursin had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Carrington then gave Baylor their first lead of the game, 34-33, outside the official television deadline. After a layup from Olivia Nelson-Ododa and free throws from Bueckers, Carrington scored the last five points of the half to give the Bears a 39-37 advantage.
She scored 14 points with three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block off the bench. Edwards only played eight minutes in the first half after two fouls in the first four of the game.
Baylor climbed 10 over UConn in the bottom of the third for the Huskies’ biggest deficit of the tournament. It started with eight straight runs from Carrington, Richards and Smith baskets. Smith finished with an athletic tip-in near the rim on a Carrington shot and Ursin came in after Nelson-Ododa made one of two free throws.
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