NCAA Tournament Natiuonal Championship Game Breakdown
#1 Connecticut vs. #4 Syracuse
Connecticut and Syracuse both punched their tickets to the national championship game on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with very convincing wins in the national semifinals. The Huskies overcame two early fouls on Breanna Stewart in the opening couple of minutes and rolled to an 80-51 win over Oregon State. Morgan Tuck was lights out from the perimeter as she scored 21 points and never allowed Beavers center Ruth Hamblin to get into her comfort zone down low all game long. Stewart added 16 points and did a very nice job of staying patient and lettings the game come to her offensively.
As a team the Huskies shot 56.7 percent from the floor including knocking down 9 of 17 shots from behind the three-point line. Defensively, Connecticut did a great job of forcing 18 Oregon State turnovers and they converted those turnovers into 21 points on the offensive end of the court. Moriah Jefferson was on top of her game as always as she scored ten points and dished out seven assists as the offense was in rhythm all game long and never seemed to be under much duress from the Beavers. However, the win for the Huskies did come with a cost as Katie Lou Samuelson did break her foot early on in the first quarter and will be unavailable for the Championship game.
Syracuse was lights out from behind the three-point line and they caused plenty of havoc defensively against Washington as they moved on to their first ever-national championship game appearance. The Orange were led by Alexis Peterson who scored 18 points to go along with three rebounds and six assists. Brittney Sykes also had a big time effort with 17 points and Brianna Butler chipped in 12, as she was lights out from the perimeter as well. Defensively, Syracuse wore down the Huskies with its trapping pressure defense as Kelsey Plum was never able to truly get rolling offensively and Chantel Osahor was limited to just three points which contributed to the Orange being able to take control of the game.
Now for Syracuse moving forward to matchup with Connecticut it is going to be important that they play with a relentlessly high level of confidence. If they play conservatively they are asking for trouble, as the Huskies are way too efficient at the offensive and defensive end of the court to be completely stopped over the course of four quarters. Offensively, the Orange are going to have to be in attack mode from the start and be able to put the ball in the basket and slow down the vaunted transition offense of Connecticut. So if the backcourt trio of Peterson, Sykes and Butler can generate some early momentum to allow them to get into their trapping defense then they have a shot to keep things relatively competitive heading into the second half.
For the Huskies they have to simply do what they do best, share the basketball offensively and take quality shots as that will slow down the Orange and not allow them to try and speed up the tempo of the game. With Samuelson out, look for Tuck and Stewart, along with Gabby Williams coming off the bench, to attack from the perimeter early which will then open things up for them to attack the basket and get Syracuse into foul trouble early on in the game. Bottom line, Syracuse is the hottest team in the tournament and they won’t be intimidated by facing the Huskies and while they have beaten South Carolina, the reality is that Connecticut is on another level. Look for the Huskies to win their fourth straight national title going away by about 20-25 points. This senior class is not going to be denied and will cement their place in women’s college basketball history with four straight national championships.
