It is not often that both teams in the Big East Championship game have their own unique storylines.
The No. 10 UConn women’s basketball team began the Big East Tournament with eight players, a number that slipped to seven when senior forward Aaliyah Edwards broke her nose. The sixth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas, battling all year long in the wake of head coach Tasha Butts’ passing, upset the tournament’s second and third seeds to make their first championship game appearance.
One had to give. Despite the Hoyas being America’s feel-good story, UConn and their seven-person squad stood strong. Every healthy player got on the scoresheet as the Huskies brought home their 22nd Big East Tournament title with a resounding 78-42 wire-to-wire victory.
Similar to Sunday’s semifinal, Connecticut started the game on a very hot run in the first three minutes. This time around, however, redshirt sophomore Ice Brady delivered the early punch with the game’s first five points. Her impact on both ends of the floor and the charity stripe helped the Huskies create some early separation versus a very physical team.
That gap only grew in the second quarter. Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player Paige Bueckers continued scoring like she normally does without needing to grab that many missed shots. While she and Brady each crossed into double figures, first-year guard Ashlynn Shade got in on the action from downtown. Her second three ended a four-minute scoring drought that gave UConn their longest halftime lead of the postseason.
But it was not all smooth sailing for the Huskies, who went 4-16 from the field in the third quarter, in their 20th consecutive conference tournament championship game. Despite their offensive struggles, Connecticut’s aggressive defense kept their advantage in the 20s. Once the Huskies, particularly Bueckers, saw more shots fall, they finished the job. Sophomore guard Ines Bettencourt checked in with 5:04 remaining, scoring at the free-throw line as UConn secured their 11th straight conference tournament championship.
“The energy that it took to finish this off was really remarkable to see,” Auriemma commented postgame. “I could not have been prouder of them. They acted like they could have played another 40 minutes if they had to.”
Almost unanimously, Bueckers won Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. The redshirt junior dropped 27 points for the second-straight contest and averaged 27.6 per game across the tournament. In addition to being the team’s top offensive weapon, the Minnesota native provided the pain defensively with her emphatic blocks.
Brady, making her second straight start, shined in the spotlight. While she finished two rebounds shy of her second-career double-double, the San Diego native made it very difficult for Georgetown to thrive down low. The redshirt freshman did damage in the post while staying out of foul trouble and forcing graduate forward Graceann Bennett into some.
All six of Brady’s free-throw attempts came in the first quarter, but she still accounted for one-third of the team’s shots from the charity stripe. Her ability to step up the way that she did in a high-stakes situation like this is something All-Tournament Team selection Nika Mühl had never seen in her life.
“She has grown so much over the last couple days, and I am so happy for her,” Mühl stated. “She stepped up when we needed her the most, and that takes some maturity; that takes everything.”
The senior guard herself crossed her own milestone en route to her fourth Big East tournament title. With nine assists in the championship game, Mühl ranks second all-time behind Moriah Jefferson with 651 career dimes. Both she and Bueckers were emotional during the postgame press conference; it was just another side of the tireless passion and energy they exert on the court every day.
“They infect other people with their enthusiasm and their confidence,” Auriemma explained. “They are comfortable in their own skin. … The emotions are real.”
Everybody contributed, but it was not just because they all scored. Only Bettencourt did not grab a rebound out of the Huskies’ seven available players; the other six each had at least three. It helped them collect 11 second-chance opportunities and outrebound the Hoyas by 10. Regardless of what end of the floor it was on, every single individual contributed in their own way.
Georgetown made it to their first Big East Championship game in program history because of their stifling defense. Coach Darnell Haney’s squad held both the third-seeded St. John’s Red Storm and second-seeded Creighton Bluejays to fewer than 50 points. The latter of those two, who were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, dropped a season-low in points. Yet UConn, which allowed 29 points and none in the final minutes in Sunday’s semifinals against the Marquette Golden Eagles, were the ones containing Georgetown.
The Huskies, despite not scoring 80+ against the Hoyas in their third meeting of the year, held them to just two threes and a 32% clip from the field. Monday marked the first time in the Big East Tournament that Georgetown did not bring in 30+ rebounds in a game since Feb. 16. Bennett and Mya Bembry were the only two Hoyas in double figures with 12 points apiece. Senior guard Kelsey Ransom, meanwhile, put herself on double-double watch with nine points and six rebounds.
Connecticut is off for at least the next nine days. While the Huskies will be one of 16 hosts of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, they will not know the other three teams coming to Storrs until Selection Sunday. Edwards should be back for the first weekend of March Madness, but in the event that she is not, UConn will continue instilling their mantra that helped them bring home another Big East title.
“We just instilled confidence within each other,” Bueckers commented. “Responding to adversity with resilience and perseverance is what our identity is as a team.”