On Sunday, UConn will either win its 12th national championship — all coming under legendary head coach Geno Auriemma — or Dawn Staley’s South Carolina program will win its third title in four years.
It’s the heaviest of heavy hitters squaring off here at Amalie Arena. Paige Bueckers is one of the greatest Huskies in program history but the rare UConn great without a national title to her name. South Carolina’s best players may be the ones who come off the bench. It’s a compelling stylistic matchup in its own right, made bigger by the Hall of Fame coaches on the sidelines and the increased attention on the women’s NCAA Tournament at large.
And it should be a heck of a game.
“There’s a sentimental narrative about Paige — a great freakin' player,” Staley said Saturday. “Anybody would start their franchise with Paige because of her efficient way of playing, because she's a winner, because she cerebrally just knows the game, just has an aura about her. And she'll be the number one pick in the WNBA draft. And she'll be an Olympian. She'll be all those things. …
“(But) I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do — equally, because there's room to do both. We can raise Paige up because she deserves that and raise our players up because they deserve that. And that's not talked about enough. There's room for it in our game.”
Nicole AuerbachThe Gamecocks are attempting to win back-to-back championships with a roster filled with familiar names but a team that wins differently from some of Staley’s title-winners in the past. There’s no Kamilla Cardoso. There’s no Aliyah Boston or A’ja Wilson. This is a team that comes at you in waves, with a deep rotation that includes stars like ...
