Key events
Texas 19-22 UCLA, 7:19 left, third quarter: Texas wins another video review to take possession.
Booker shoots to tie the game from behind the arc. She misses.
Betts and Booker collide, with Betts getting the worst of it. Booker is called for a foul, and they’ll review to see if the foul should be upgrade. That would be harsh, wouldn’t it?
Score by quarters so far:
First quarter: UCLA 14-6
Second quarter: Texas 11-6
Third quarter (a bit more than 25% done): 2-2
Texas 19-22 UCLA, 7:54 left, third quarter: UCLA’s Kiki Rice drives for a hard-fought bucket, ending our long national nightmare of a scoring drought.
Oldacre misses two free throws for Texas.
Kneepkens dribbles behind her back to create some space but misses her shot.
Oldacre scores in the post. She seems impervious to Betts’ presence.
Texas 17-20 UCLA, 9:47 left, third quarter: We’re back. Texas forward Breya Cunningham picks up her third foul.
Geno Auriemma has doubled down, claiming in his postgame press conference that he waited three minutes to shake Staley’s hand in pregame. When? ESPN has showed footage of Staley shaking hands with him and his whole staff before the game. Was there a specific time that he had in mind? And surely three minutes is an overstatement.
ESPN’s commentary crew was having none of it. “Problematic” was the operative word.
Halftime stats
If you like offense, avert your eyes.
UCLA is shooting 38% (9 for 24). That’s not fantastic, but it’s much better than the 25% (8 for 32) that Texas has posted. Booker is 1 for 12. Rori Harmon has nearly half of the Longhorns’ points, scoring eight on 4-for-6 shooting.
UCLA has the rebounding edge, 21-18, but they have 12 turnovers.
The arena is blasting loud violin music. Time for figure skating?
Halftime: Texas 17-20 UCLA
Preston does fine work to create a shot for herself but misses. She draws an offensive foul at the other end, though, and Texas has a shot at a tie. It misses.
At this pace, the final score would be 40-34.
Texas 17-20 UCLA, 1:17 left, second quarter: Booker snares a long rebound? Can she snap her scoring drought with a transition basket? Nope – she’s fouled.
Another UCLA miss, and Booker goes the other way – then misses her 11th straight shot.
And yet Texas is only three points down.
Texas 17-20 UCLA, 2:00 left, second quarter: Generally, I give referees the benefit of the doubt, especially after dealing with a tirade like Auriemma’s. But we just had a collision in which something needed to be called. The charge vs. block decision can be difficult, but calling nothing shouldn’t be an option.
Jaquez hits a nice pullup jumper. The Texas shooters are still cold, but Harmon gets two points off a steal and a breakaway layup. That’s eight points for her, nearly half of the Texas output.
Texas 15-18 UCLA, 4:14 left, second quarter: After a successful challenge of an out-of-bounds call, Texas comes back out with good ball movement to get Oldacre a clean shot that she converts. Harmon scores again on the next possession to cut the lead to four.
Betts answers with another great post move. Aaliyah Crump hits a 3-pointer to pull Texas within three.
UCLA miss. But Booker misses again. She’s 1-of-11, and it’s been a very long time since that 1.
Texas 8-16 UCLA, 7:00 left, second quarter: Kneepkens finds herself wide open in the middle of the lane and hits the short jumper. She already has seven.
The teams trade sloppy possessions, with Kneepkens guilty of a couple of poorly chosen shots. Booker misses again – she’s 1-for-8. Now 1-for-9.
Texas 8-14 UCLA, 9:05 left, second quarter: Right on cue, Harmon cuts into UCLA’s lead. The Longhorns get it back, but Betts stops Oldacre this time and forces the difficult shot.
Reminder of the first Texas-UCLA game this season …
These teams played in November, with Texas taking a 76-65 win. The Longhorns held Betts to eight points on 4-of-8 shooting. Booker scored 16, a little under her average, but Rori Harmon erupted for 26.
Neither team went to the bench much. Texas only used two subs. UCLA only used one, though she played 34 minutes.
Texas 6-14 UCLA, end first quarter
Booker zips through the lane but is off balance and can’t convert.
The Longhorns defense gets a stop, but after a foul and a successful inbounds, Booker misses again.
Texas 6-14 UCLA, 0:53 left, first quarter: The poor start continues for Texas as they fumble the inbounds pass out of play.
The UCLA inbounds is also fraught, but they manage to get it in play. Briefly. Turnover.
Kyla Oldacre battles Betts in the paint and wins, pivoting away from the UCLA center to score. Oldacre is just an inch shorter than the 6-7 Betts.
Texas 4-14 UCLA, 2:08 left, first quarter: Booker tries to answer with a contested 3-point effort from the corner, but it sails over its target. Gabriela Jaquez drives for a layup to push the lead to double digits, and the Longhorns call timeout.
Texas 4-12 UCLA, 2:34 left, first quarter: Jordan Lee tries a difficult shot in the paint and only gets the rim. But Betts surprisingly misses twice at the other end to let Texas off the hook.
Breya Cunningham bangs an ugly shot off the basket, extending Texas’ shooting woes.
Angela Dugalic hits from behind the arc, and the lead is eight.
Texas 4-9 UCLA, 4:29 left, first quarter: Betts isn’t just big. She has skills. Cut off her path to the hoop, and she’ll just pivot and hit a fadeaway jumper. She restores UCLA’s five-point lead.
Both teams go cold for a minute leading into the media timeout.
Texas 4-7 UCLA, 5:45 left, first quarter: Kneepkens drains a 3-pointer. She has five points already, and the Bruins lead by five.
Harmon hits a jumper to shave the lead to three.
Texas 2-4 UCLA, 6:55 left, first quarter: Good defensive stop for Texas, and Booker opens her scoring account right away.
UCLA misses again, but the looming presence of Lauren Betts stops a Texas drive, and the Longhorns turn it over.
Kneepkens scores for UCLA, and then after a stop at the defensive end, Betts puts the Bruins ahead.
Game 2 is underway …
UCLA is led by six seniors. The centerpiece is 6-7 center Lauren Betts.
Texas also has senior leaders in Kyla Oldacre and Rori Harmon, but the offensive focal point is junior Madison Booker, who averaged 19.3 points this season.
Tipoff for Texas-UCLA will be in about eight minutes.
Some surprising players made the difference in this game.
For South Carolina, Joyce Edwards averaged nearly 20 points this season but was held to 11 here. (Her eight rebounds and three steals certainly helped.) Ta’Niya Latson is no scoring slouch herself, but few would’ve expected her to lead the team in scoring with 16 and grab 11 rebounds. The next highest scorer for the Gamecocks was a first-year player – Agot Makeer, who had 14 points off the bench.
For Connecticut, Sarah Strong led the scoring with just 12 points on 4-of-16 scoring. She made her presence felt with 12 rebounds and three steals. (She also tore her own jersey, though it’s possible that it had developed a small tear to get it started.) Ashlynn Shade kept the Huskies close for a while and finished with 10 points. Kayleigh Heckel had three steals, and KK Arnold played stifling defense. Azzi Fudd finished her distinguished career, complete with multiple comebacks from devastating injuries, with just eight points on 3-for-15 shooting.
South Carolina will be extremely tough to defeat in the final, no matter who emerges from our second game tonight.
Which we will cover here, so stay tuned …
This is shocking stuff from Auriemma. He has had his share of controversial utterances over the years, but he seemed to have settled in as an elder statesman of the game. His profanity in the interview before the fourth quarter and whatever he said to Staley, one of the most respected people in the sport, will put a dent in that image.
Postgame interview with Staley. “I’m of integrity. If I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand pregame.”
I was watching. She shook hands with everyone in the vicinity of the UConn bench.
South Carolina beats unbeaten Connecticut 62-48
Auriemma starts yelling at Staley as they go to shake hands. Staley has none of it. She snaps back.
Funny thing – there’s actually 0.1 seconds left. Assistant coaches calm the two fiesty leaders, and UConn inbounds to end it.
Staley goes to shake hands with UConn staffers – still agitated, but it’s clear that the assistant is calmly listening.
Auriemma has already headed for the tunnel. After the players shake hands, UConn players sprint up the tunnel as well.
South Carolina 62-48 UConn, 30.8 seconds left, fourth quarter: Fudd’s night of wayward shooting continues. South Carolina rebounds, and once again, Latson goes to the line. She has hit 9-of-9. Make it 10.
Strong puts her shoulder down and drives, getting a foul. See, Coach Auriemma? When your players drive, that’s when you get fouls called your way.
Strong misses the first and hits the second.
South Carolina 60-47 UConn, 1:00 left, fourth quarter: Latson coolly hits another free throw, and another.
South Carolina 58-47 UConn, 1:05 left, fourth quarter: Heckel misses a layup and bursts into tears. How much pressure must these players be facing when they’ve won 54 in a row?
Timeout UConn.
South Carolina 58-47 UConn, 1:21 left, fourth quarter: Latson hits two free throws to push the lead to 10.
Heckel loses the handle. UConn furiously presses but can’t force a turnover. Fudd fouls. We’re at that point in the game at which the Huskies simply have to stop the clock,
Edwards hits the first of two free throws but misses the second.
South Carolina 55-47 UConn, 1:45 left, fourth quarter: Tessa Johnson misses, but Latson shakes off contact for her 10th rebound. What a game for the Florida State transfer.
South Carolina 55-47 UConn, 2:11 left, fourth quarter: Strong gets away with a foul. The ball bounces out of play. South Carolina maintains possession and calls timeout.
ESPN gives South Carolina a 99% chance of winning. I’ll say 62.2%. Exactly.
South Carolina 55-47 UConn, 2:35 left, fourth quarter: Fudd airball.
Edwards tries a tough shot in the paint and draws the back of the rim.
UConn goes in motion, with players racing around the arc and dropping short passes until they find an open player. This time, it’s Strong, who ends a long field-goal drought with a 3-pointer.
Another good defensive sequence for UConn.
Blocked shot for South Carolina, but the Huskies swarm Edwards. The Gamecocks can barely break the pressure, but when they do, they have a 4-on-1, and Mateer converts. She’s making a huge difference in this half.
Latson drives but can’t get it to fall. Okot does. The lead is eight again.
ESPN’s stat feed gives South Carolina an 88.1% chance of winning. That’s ridiculous. The Huskies have already shown how quickly they can erase a deficit. And whether it was Auriemma’s tirade or just a coincidental swing, South Carolina is certainly not getting the benefit of the doubt from the officials any more.
Connecticut fans had a lot to do with getting ESPN off the ground nearly 50 years ago. Color commentator Rebecca Lobo is a legendary UConn alum herself, though she tends not to betray any bias in her excellent commentary.
South Carolina 51-44 UConn, 5:53 left, fourth quarter: A bit of a lapse from UConn’s defense there, and McDaniel scores in transition.
Shade misses for UConn. Latson drives past Quiñónez and draws the first-year UConn player’s fourth foul. Off the inbound play, Mateer hits a long 3-pointer, and Auriemma calls timeout.
South Carolina 46-44 UConn, 6:37 left, fourth quarter: Strong fouls Edwards.
Auriemma’s hair has gone grayer over the course of this game.
KK Arnold hounds Raven Johnson defensively and forces a held ball. Possession to UConn. The Huskies’ role players have had a spectacular game while the stars have struggled.
Quiñónez hits two free throws.
South Carolina 46-42 UConn, 7:38 left, fourth quarter: Fudd hits a 3.
For what it’s worth, the second foul on Edwards this quarter was softer than the midsection of a middle-aged couch potato.
Heckel hustles to maintain possession for UConn. She drives, but Raven Johnson emphatically swats the shot away.
South Carolina 46-39 UConn, 8:41 left, fourth quarter: Makeer pushes the South Carolina lead to seven with a blazing-fast drive.
Edwards is called for a foul, South Carolina’s second of the quarter.
Edwards is called for another foul. South Carolina’s third of the quarter. Auriemma’s rant might be having some impact.
Geno Auriemma just dropped a four-letter word in an interview during the intermission. He’s upset that all of the fouls in the third quarter were called against their team, while “their coach” rants and raves and says terrible things to the refs.
“Their coach” has a name. She’s Dawn Staley, who was a fantastic player in her day and has built this South Carolina program from scratch.
The four leading scorers in this game each have 10 points. That’s Latson, Edwards and Tessa Johnson for South Carolina, and Shade for UConn.
End third quarter: South Carolina 44-39 UConn
Tessa Johnson hits a pair of free throws to stop the UConn run. Quiñónez tosses up an airball from beyond the arc, and South Carolina works the ball around patiently to Tessa Johnson for another two points. Strong misses just before the horn sounds. She’s 3-for-14. Fudd is 2-for-9. And yet UConn is very much in this.
South Carolina 40-39 UConn, 0:46 left, third quarter: South Carolina thought they had UConn trapped, but the Huskies work the ball around to a wide-open Quiñónez, who atones for her fouls by hitting the open 3-pointer. Raven Johnson turns it over, and at last, Azzi Fudd hits a 3.
Nine points in about 90 seconds.
South Carolina 40-33 UConn, 2:11 left, third quarter: Quiñónez fouls Latson. The South Carolina player hits both free throws, and the Gamecocks have a double-digit lead.
Heckel is stunned to find herself open from six feet out, and her shot draws the front rim. But UConn fights to keep the ball, and Heckel hits a three.
South Carolina 38-30 UConn, 3:09 left, third quarter: Edwards draws a foul from Strong and has a chance to put the Gamecocks up 10, but her first free throw is too … well, strong. She misses her second as well.
Strong bangs hard in the post to create some space but still misses a shot.
It’s chaos now.
Expected:
For South Carolina, Joyce Edwards has 10 points, and Madina Okot has seven rebounds.
For Connecticut, Sarah Strong has eight points and six rebounds.
Unexpected:
For South Carolina, Raven Johnson is 1-for-5.
For Connecticut, Ashlynn Shade has 10 and Azzi Fudd has two.
South Carolina 38-30 UConn, 4:16 left, third quarter: Quiñónez races out of control down the lane and misses a layup. Tessa Johnson rushes a shot at the other end and barely hits the rim.
Ashlynn Shade finds her range again, hitting from the free throw line.
Edwards restores the eight-point lead. She follows up with a steal and draws a foul in transition from Azzi Fudd.
Timeout on the court.
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