Women’s Final Four 2022 – First look at the four teams headed to Minneapolis

The 2022 girls’s Closing 4 is about. Three No. 1 seeds are making their strategy to Minneapolis. And after a double-overtime thriller in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the second-seeded UConn Huskies will be a part of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Stanford Cardinal and Louisville Cardinals within the nationwide semifinals.

The Huskies, who knocked off the top-seeded NC State Wolfpack on Monday, punched their ticket to a 14th consecutive Closing 4. South Carolina thrashed Creighton on Sunday for a second consecutive journey — dashing the Bluejays’ Cinderella desires within the course of — whereas defending nationwide champion Stanford squeaked out a win over the Texas Longhorns. Additionally on Monday, Louisville pulled away down the stretch over the Michigan Wolverines to make its first Closing 4 since 2018.

Every crew brings loads of expertise and intriguing storylines to the desk. South Carolina is making its fourth look in seven years. Because the wire-to-wire AP top-ranked crew, the Gamecocks have been the favourite to carry the trophy for a lot of the season. Louisville is the 1-seed that fashions itself as a plucky underdog. Stanford has been dominant within the event and brings an incredible quantity of depth. UConn is the crew that has traditionally entered the postseason among the many favorites, however this season has been a distinct story.

Who will hoist the trophy is anybody’s guess, however the matchups look beautiful.

The Closing 4 tips about Friday, with South Carolina enjoying Louisville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), and Stanford matching up towards UConn (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

UConn Huskies
2021-22 report: 29-5
Closing 4 appearances: 21
Championships: 11 (1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)

UConn punched its ticket to a 14th consecutive Closing 4 with an exhilarating 91-87 double-overtime victory over NC State. If there’s one phrase that describes the Huskies’ season, it’s resilience. Coping with a mix of accidents and diseases affecting a lot of its key gamers, this UConn crew is a far cry from those that ran roughshod over the Massive East with out enjoying an in depth sport. Whether or not that resilience might be sufficient to get the Huskies to their first championship sport since 2016 is the query.

Main the Huskies is sophomore guard Paige Bueckers. After lacking 19 video games with a tibial plateau fracture and torn meniscus, Bueckers returned to type towards NC State with 27 factors. She is the engine for UConn. However the Huskies even have seen key contributions from freshman Azzi Fudd and senior Christyn Williams. Whereas their offense largely clicked towards the Wolfpack, there have been spots the place the Huskies reverted to “Paige watching,” which bottles them up.

UConn additionally will doubtless be with no core participant shifting ahead, as Dorka Juhasz left the Elite Eight matchup within the second quarter with a wrist damage. Her restoration timetable is unknown, but when she is unavailable for the Closing 4, UConn might be lacking a key competitor who helps the Huskies stretch the ground in a means Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa don’t. Juhasz’s absence will little doubt make some issues harder for UConn, however the Huskies have battled by way of difficult conditions all season.

Not like final season, when the Huskies had been favored to maneuver on to the championship sport, UConn is a little bit of an underdog this yr. That is an unfamiliar feeling in a well-known place for this program. — Barnes

Up subsequent: vs. Stanford (Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Geno Auriemma shares his ideas on Paige Bueckers and UConn advancing to their 14th straight Closing 4.

Louisville Cardinals

2021-22 report: 29-4
Closing 4 appearances: 4
Championships: 0

If a crew can presumably spin an underdog story out of a No. 1 seed, the Cardinals have definitely executed it. They’ve used the “nobody is speaking about us” narrative as motivation for the primary two weeks of the event. They most likely will not should cease.

With UConn making its 14th straight Closing 4, Stanford because the defending champion and South Carolina because the season-long favourite, a lot of the eye heading into the Closing 4 is more likely to go elsewhere. That does not imply the Cardinals cannot take prime billing come Friday evening.

In the event that they do, protection would be the driving drive, simply because it has all season. On Monday, Michigan appeared helpless at occasions towards Louisville’s protection within the Wichita Regional ultimate. The Wolverines repeatedly stared at a dwindling shot clock and scored only one level within the ultimate 6:40 of the sport.

Louisville solely allowed greater than 70 factors twice your complete season. And it is why coach Jeff Walz has preached that if his offense can get to 70, he offers his crew an opportunity. Provided that the Cardinals have scored that many solely as soon as within the event makes their run much more spectacular. However Louisville will want somebody apart from Hailey Van Lith to offer constant offense. Van Lith, who struggled within the first half of the season, is now a star. She turned the primary Louisville participant to attain a minimum of 20 factors in 4 consecutive NCAA event video games together with her 22 within the Elite Eight. Chelsie Corridor and Kianna Smith each hit double figures towards the Wolverines, which particularly helped within the first half. If Emily Engstler, who quarterbacks the protection and does nearly all the things else (16 rebounds, six steals, 4 assists however simply 5 factors towards Michigan), can discover her capturing stroke, attending to 70 turns into a actuality once more.

Nonetheless, the duty will get much more tough with the nation’s greatest protection in South Carolina awaiting. If the underdog function has labored to date, Louisville ought to get pleasure from it once more. South Carolina might be favored and get extra of the eye. — Charlie Creme

Up subsequent: vs. South Carolina (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

South Carolina Gamecocks
2021-22 report: 33-2
Closing 4 appearances: 4
Championships: 1 (2017)

South Carolina is again within the Closing 4, the college’s second consecutive look and fourth beneath coach Daybreak Staley. The Gamecocks have made the Closing 4 in 4 of the previous seven seasons, and they’re one step nearer to avenging final season’s loss within the nationwide semifinals. All through this yr’s event, the questions surrounding South Carolina have been targeted on the crew’s offense. The Gamecocks are averaging 69.3 factors of their 4 March Insanity video games, which is 1.6 under their season common. South Carolina’s regular-season common of 70.8 factors ranks 58th in Division I, and since 2000, no nationwide champion has ranked exterior the highest 25 in scoring, in accordance with ESPN Stats & Info analysis.

If South Carolina goes to buck that development, will probably be on the energy of its protection. Within the second spherical, the Gamecocks solely put up 49 factors, however they held Miami to 33. And South Carolina may be equally devastating on the boards. In opposition to Creighton within the Elite Eight, South Carolina snagged 20 extra boards than the Bluejays, and that translated into 15 second-chance factors as in comparison with Creighton’s 4.

In the end, although, how nationwide participant of the yr hopeful Aliyah Boston performs will dictate South Carolina’s prospects. When Boston will get impactful touches, she alters the sport for South Carolina offensively, and he or she has an incredible impression defensively, as nicely. That is why she’s the one participant on the brief listing for each nationwide participant of the yr and defensive participant of the yr. How the supporting solid of Destanni Henderson, Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Victaria Saxton steps up and takes benefits of the alternatives created by defenses keying on Boston will doubtless make the distinction for the Gamecocks’ championship prospects.

Typically the power to win video games, it doesn’t matter what form they take, is what makes a champion. And South Carolina — the wire-to-wire AP No. 1 crew this season — has proved it may well win almost each means required. — Katie Barnes

Up subsequent: vs. Louisville (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Stanford Cardinal
2021-22 report: 32-3
Closing 4 appearances: 15
Championships: 3 (1990, 1992, 2021)

Cameron Brink is not the rationale Stanford gained the nationwide championship final yr. She could possibly be this yr. Brink adjustments who the Cardinal are from sport to sport, even quarter to quarter.

A great defensive crew turns into nice. A flexible lineup turns into inconceivable to match. That’s the reason coach Tara VanDerveer handles Brink and her propensity for foul hassle with child gloves. The coach wants her 6-foot-4 sophomore on the ground at a very powerful moments.

Sunday’s Spokane Regional ultimate had a lot of them, and Brink was concerned in most. After preventing their strategy to a halftime lead — Brink was on the bench many of the second quarter with two fouls — the Cardinal erupted to start out the third, spearheaded by Brink. Her 5 fast factors prompted Stanford to regain command. Minutes later, when Texas’ dribble drive turned an excessive amount of for the Cardinal protection to deal with, VanDerveer went to a not often used zone and invited the Longhorns to throw the ball into the put up. She wished the Longhorns’ Lauren Ebo and Aaliyah Moore to go one-on-one with Brink. They could not. Three Brink blocks later and Texas needed to transfer on to a distinct plan. Brink single-handedly compelled the Longhorns to a brand new technique. She scored all 10 of her factors within the third and blocked three of her six pictures as Stanford took a five-point lead into the ultimate 10 minutes.

Brink is Stanford’s main scorer and rebounder and the Pac-12 defensive participant of the yr, however largely she is the X issue of all X components. Most nights she’s not even the Cardinal’s greatest participant however as an alternative that secret sauce VanDerveer makes use of to make the meal good and prays foul hassle would not destroy. In response to Her Hoops Stats, Brink is third within the nation in win shares per 40 minutes. That Brink is twenty third in total win shares underscores how vital it’s that she’s on the courtroom.

Anna Wilson and Lexie Hull may be extra aggressive defensively when Brink is behind them, and protection is actually what has turned some early-season disappointment right into a 23-game successful streak. Brink offers an equally distinctive participant in Haley Jones — a degree guard who averages 7.8 rebounds and three.7 assists and was final season’s Most Excellent Participant on the Closing 4 — the right touchdown spot for her excellent passing expertise.

VanDerveer usually manages Brink’s foul hassle or the potential for it brilliantly. In the end, there’s solely a lot a coach can do. It is as much as Brink to remain on the courtroom. If she does, Brink would be the most tough one-on-one matchup — other than South Carolina’s Boston — on both finish of the courtroom in Minneapolis, and Stanford might be in prime place for a second consecutive championship. — Creme

Up subsequent: vs. UConn (Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)