The Road to the Final Four is a challenging one. The pressure builds throughout the regular season and when you get to the NCAA Tournament, your margin for error is zero. It’s challenging and tests you in a variety of ways. Luckily for the University of Connecticut, this Road is a well-traveled one.
UConn entered the World’s Most Famous Arena with a pristine 29-0 record. The Huskies have been tested throughout the season as the reigning champions have faced fierce challenges from Michigan and rough patches over the course of a long season.
Earlier this season, Connecticut defeated St. John’s 88-43 in Storrs, CT. It was a complete effort for the defending National Champions as they dominated their long time Big East rivals. For the rematch, the teams met in a special, new setting. The teams also made history as well.
World Famous
In November, The Torch reported that St. John’s would be hosting the regular season finale against Connecticut at MSG. The game was the first ever standalone women’s college basketball game in Garden history.
St. John’s women’s basketball set a school attendance record for a standalone game with close to 10,000 fans in the arena. New York has served as a home base of sorts for Connecticut over the years, so there was a large Huskies presence at MSG. But no matter who people cheered for, they came out to watch good basketball.
“New York people are going to turn out if it’s a really good product that you’re putting out there on the floor,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said after the game. “And I do think a place like New York, Madison Square Garden, would be a perfect place for a Final Four on the women’s side.”
UConn came out strong in the regular season finale as hometown kid Serah Williams shined early.
It was all UConn as they led wire-to-wire and went on to win 85-49. In her final regular season college game, Azzi Fudd had 14 points on 6-12 shooting from the field. National Player of the Year candidate Sarah Strong tied a season high with six steals and had 11 points in 26 minutes.
Dating back to last season, the team has won 47 games in a row. UConn also secured their first undefeated regular season since 2017-2018 when Napheesa Collier was leading the team. They also hope to go back-to-back, which is a feat that hasn’t been done since Breanna Stewart led the team in 2016.
In defeat, St. John’s came away with some lessons they can take in to the Big East Tournament.
“We’ve shown a lot of growth from a lot of players that we have,” St. John’s coach Joe Tartamella said. “I like the core group that we have out there. Hopefully, that will pay dividends as we move in to the Big East Tournament and postseason.”
The Big East Tournament gets underway this Friday in Uncasville, CT. There’s a lot of great basketball on deck and a chance history will be made this Spring.