Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
FORT WORTH, Texas — The No. 1 UConn Huskies discovered themselves in unfamiliar territory at halftime of their Sweet 16 matchup towards No. 4 (*8*) on Friday.
They have been up on the Tar Heels, positive, however had trailed 12-11 after the primary quarter, and at the same time as they managed to tug forward 28-20 on the break, North Carolina hadn’t made a lot straightforward.
UConn established extra of a groove within the second half en path to a 63-42 victory that secured this system’s thirtieth Elite Eight berth and 53rd consecutive win.
But the expertise of getting to grind issues out may need been what the Huskies wanted as they pulled inside three wins of an undefeated marketing campaign and back-to-back nationwide titles.
“I think this was a great win for us because we had to figure things out when things weren’t necessarily going our way,” senior guard Azzi Fudd mentioned. “I just feel like that gives us more confidence going forward, that when things are going our way, nothing can stop us.”
In their second-round win Monday, the Huskies had floored onlookers with a first-half masterpiece towards Syracuse, leaping forward 65-12.
UConn’s protection confirmed up from the get-go Friday — the squad set an NCAA document for single-season steals with 583 earlier than the sport’s finish — however its offense stalled towards the powerful, bodily defensive unit from North Carolina.
The Huskies pressured 11 UNC turnovers however shot simply 36% from the sector and went 1-for-9 on 3-pointers within the first half. An 11-point body from sophomore Sarah Strong, plus one other 11 factors off the bench from freshman Blanca Quiñonez, helped UConn pull forward. But it nonetheless culminated within the Huskies’ first sub-30-point first half of the season.
“It felt almost in that first half like we were down,” Fudd mentioned. “It felt like we were rushing a little bit. … Almost felt like we needed our second wind. So at halftime, [we had to] take that breath and [said] ‘listen, we’re up. We’re not playing great at all. We’re up, settle.'”
The Huskies responded out of the break to snag the momentum for good. A 12-0 run to start the third gave them their first 20-point lead of the competition. Coach Geno Auriemma was happy with how the workforce performed at a faster tempo, permitting the Huskies to attain earlier within the shot clock to counteract North Carolina’s protection.
The Huskies outscored the Tar Heels 37-13 within the second and third quarters, together with 20-5 within the third.
“I think we became the aggressor coming out of that half and really hit them with the first punch,” junior Ashlynn Shade mentioned, “and just kept going.”
“We got that first half out of our system and we went out, I feel like, just a little more sure, a little more calm, a little more confident,” Fudd added.
Strong paced the workforce with 21 factors and 10 rebounds, good for her fourth profession 20-10 NCAA event recreation, essentially the most in UConn historical past by way of a participant’s first two NCAA tournaments.
Quiñonez (16 factors) and Fudd (10) additionally completed in double figures. Indya Nivar (20) accounted for almost half of the Tar Heels’ factors.
The Huskies subsequent face No. 6 seed Notre Dame in hopes of advancing to their seventeenth Final Four in 18 tournaments. And Auriemma believes Friday’s expertise may very well be “good going forward, because I can envision this happening again on Sunday.”
“You have to go in expecting it to be hard, and you have to expect that the other team is going to make it hard for you to score,” Auriemma mentioned. “It’s been like that a lot, and then you get years where everything goes in, and you’re up 25 at halftime, and they think, ‘Ah, this is a piece of cake.’ That’s the exception, rather than the rule.”
