From the very first possession on Friday night, Arizona’s national semifinal game against Connecticut was an exercise in slow, grind-it-out basketball, with a lot of missed shots and long, labored possessions. The Wildcats immediately established their strategy: suffocating defense with the steals to show for it, energetic rebounding and lots of 3-point shots. 1 seed Huskies possession after possession, racking up a few more fouls than was optimal but ultimately throttling their heavily favored opponent from start to finish to secure a 69-59 victory and their first trip to the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball title game. 3 seed, will face top-seeded Stanford in the final on Sunday after derailing UConn, the most dominant program in the tournament’s history, and its heralded freshman, Paige Bueckers.

Source: New York Times April 03, 2021 05:37 UTC