Last season in Seattle, the UConn women’s basketball team began the Sweet 16 on a 10-0 run against the Ohio State Buckeyes. From there, the Huskies fell victim to the Buckeyes’ suffocating press defense, turning the ball over 25 times as their Final Four streak ended with a thud.
Although there will be no revenge match, third-seeded Connecticut aims for a better outcome in the Sweet 16, where they battle the seventh-seeded Duke Blue Devils at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. tomorrow night.
During Monday’s postgame press conference, head coach Geno Auriemma mentioned how this year’s team had a different mentality. He also referenced that last year’s team did not have National Player of the Year finalist Paige Bueckers, who has played with a fiery passion this postseason. Across five contests, Bueckers is averaging 28.6 points at a 54% clip, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.8 blocks and 3.2 steals per game. If the numbers do not prove it, then her emphatic energy is a prime example of how eager the redshirt junior is to play postseason basketball again.
Bueckers has not done it alone. Big East Freshman of the Year Ashlynn Shade twice rediscovered her three-point stroke last weekend, burying five triples in each of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Shade, the team’s second-leading scorer in both of those contests, has also been aggressive on the boards, averaging five rebounds per game in her last three contests.
Three Huskies dropped double figures when they dueled Duke last season, coincidentally also in Portland. Only senior forward Aaliyah Edwards will be playing between those three on Saturday. Edwards, who has recorded a double-double in her first two games back from injury, hopes to shoot better than a less-than-ideal 4-8 mark from the floor. Should the All-American honorable mention attack the paint often, UConn should be in a solid position.
While Edwards closes in on 1,000 career rebounds, senior guard Nika Mühl made history as she became the program’s all-time leader in assists. Even though she took the record from Moriah Jefferson, Mühl’s last-ever Gampel game ended in a heartbeat with three fouls in 30 seconds in the fourth quarter. The Huskies held on in the final 5:16 without their point guard, but as their postseason continues, they need the senior guard to avoid fouling.
Connecticut avoided repeating history that Monday night, but it was not just because they had been in that situation before. First-year guard KK Arnold delivered the biggest shot of her UConn career when her dagger three landed with 10 seconds remaining. She has taken at least six shots in all but one postseason game, and if Monday was any indication, perhaps Arnold has several more critical buckets in store.
Redshirt freshman Ice Brady will see significant minutes if Edwards endures early foul trouble on Saturday. Brady has not yet converted a shot attempt on eight tries in the NCAA Tournament, but there is a chance that changes depending on the situation.
This is a much different Blue Devils team than the one UConn beat by 28 in 2022. Down as much as 16 in the second quarter, Duke stunned the Buckeyes in the second round on Sunday behind a strong second half.
All-ACC Second Team selection Reigan Richardson scored 10 of her career-high 28 points in the fourth quarter and made each of the Blue Devils’ last four field goals. Beyond her knack for finding a clutch shot, Richardson is as impactful to their offense as Third Team All-American Dyaisha Fair was for the sixth-seeded Syracuse Orange. A third 20-piece in this year’s NCAA Tournament could be in the cards for Duke’s lone double-digit scorer.
While Richardson provides the buckets, Boston College transfer Taina Mair commands both ends of the floor. Despite being two points shy of averaging double figures at a 37.5% mark from the field, Mair is one of the top point guards in the ACC. No player has more than the sophomore guard’s 121 assists and 48 steals, and although she dropped double figures, look for her to have more than one bucket in Oregon tomorrow.
ACC Sixth Player of the Year Oluchi Okananwa, one of the most impactful freshmen in the conference, averages 9.6 points a night, but thrives behind her suffocating defense. Okananwa leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game and 76 offense boards while ranking third with 45 steals. Not only is the ACC All-Freshman Team selection a menace on the glass, but she gives the opposition as few chances as she can by creating extra possessions.
Kennedy Brown, Jadyn Donovan and Camilla Emsbo all contribute to Duke’s defensive-minded reputation. Donovan feasts on the boards as one of two players with 120+ defensive rebounds while shooting at an efficient 55.3% mark. Beyond further contributing to the Blue Devils’ stifling defense that holds opponents several points below their season averages, Emsbo denies people at the rim with 46 blocks to complement her 96 rebounds. Brown also makes it difficult for her opponents to shoot the ball, doing so while bringing down more boards.
All three give Duke one of the nation’s nastiest frontcourts. It will be a long night for the Huskies if Edwards or Brady run into early foul trouble against these three. Look out for sophomore guard Ashlon Jackson, one of three Blue Devils in double figures last Sunday. She leads the team with 54 three-pointers and could be an X-factor in this West Coast war.
Like the first round, the key to this game is on the glass. Both teams average over 38 rebounds per contest and allow their opponents to grab fewer than 33. Duke does not have as many players recording double-doubles because of their depth, but whichever team controls the boards will advance in the NCAA Tournament.
Tip-off from Portland is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.