Here's what you need to know about No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 2 Connecticut in NCAA tournament women's Final Four:
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m. PDT
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay
TV: ESPN
The breakdown: They’re the No. 1 seed no one seems to be talking about, but the Bruins don’t have a problem flying under the radar.
Despite earning the tournament’s top seed, a program-record 34 wins and their first NCAA Final Four appearance, the Bruins are the betting underdog in Friday’s national semifinal against No. 2 Connecticut, according to many sports books. Coach Cori Close cares only about the final stat book.
“If you want to talk about whoever you want, go ahead,” she said Thursday. “It's going to all shake out about who shows up to perform, who plays their best when their best is needed.”
Connecticut superstar Paige Bueckers has the Huskies (35-3) playing what Close estimated was their best basketball in the last six weeks. The presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft averaged 35 points in the last three games and is trying to end Connecticut’s nine-year championship drought, the longest since the Huskies won their first NCAA title in 1995.
The Bruins have a star in their own right with center Lauren Betts, who earned Naismith defensive player of the year Wednesday. UCLA’s first Associated Press first-team All-American is averaging 20 points, 9.6 rebounds and three blocked shots per game. Her career-high 91 assists have enhanced a deep roster that flexed its muscle with 18 points and 17 points from Gabriela Jaquez and Timea Gardiner, respectively, in the regional final against Louisiana State.
“It's not just her,” Bueckers said of Betts.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
