PORTLAND, Ore. — Two storied women’s college basketball programs will take the court on Saturday, as the No. 3 seed UConn Huskies (31-5) battle the No. 7 seed Duke Blue Devils (22-11) in the Sweet 16 of the Portland 3 region at the Moda Center on ESPN at 8 p.m.
UConn defeated the No. 6 seed Syracuse on Monday 72-64, as redshirt junior guard Paige Bueckers, a USBWA First-Team All-American, scored 32 points with 10 rebounds and six assists, playing the full 40 minutes. The Huskies will look to Bueckers to carry them through the tournament, and the Blue Devils are next in line.
Duke upset Ohio State, the region’s No. 2 seed, on Sunday by a score of 75-63. Junior guard Reigan Richardson led the way, scoring 28 points.
Saturday will mark the fourth time the programs have faced off in the NCAA Tournament. UConn won the previous two meetings but lost the first one.
Most recently, the Huskies played the Blue Devils in March Madness on March 24, 2018, as the No. 1 seed UConn defeated No. 5 seed Duke 72-59 in the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y. UConn would eventually lose to Notre Dame 91-89 in overtime in the Final Four.
On March 29, 2011, the No. 1 seed UConn handedly beat the No. 2 seed Duke 75-40 in the Elite 8 in Philadelphia behind star forward Maya Moore’s 28 points. That UConn team also lost to Notre Dame in the Final Four, 72-63.
The most memorable NCAA Tournament matchup between the two programs occurred on March 28, 2006, in the Elite 8 in Bridgeport, Conn., as the No. 2 seed Huskies looked to score an upset over the No. 1 seed Duke. Entering the game, UConn had won 29 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in Connecticut.
It was not meant to be that night, however, as any UConn fan old enough to remember the heartache knows how the contest unfolded. That evening, the Huskies and Blue Devils played an even game and needed overtime to determine who would advance to the Final Four.
UConn trailed 63-61 in the final seconds of overtime, and that would remain the final score, as UConn forward Charde Houston drove to the post, after her defender slipped. Unfortunately for the Huskies, Houston missed a wide-open six-footer, and time expired as Duke grabbed the rebound and advanced.
Fans of women’s college basketball can only hope that Saturday’s game matches the intensity and competitiveness that made the 2006 matchup special and still memorable nearly 20 years later.
In addition to Bueckers, who is averaging 30 points through two games of the 2024 NCAA tournament, UConn is led by senior forward Aaliyah Edwards, who scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Syracuse after scoring 20 points and securing 10 rebounds against Jackson State in the Round of 64.
For the Huskies, Nika Muhl is a critical component. While she did not score against Syracuse, her stellar defense limited dynamic guard Dyaisha Fair, who still moved up to third on the all-time scoring list on Monday. When Muhl fouled out with about five minutes to go, Syracuse went on a significant run, trimming a nine-point lead to two in the blink of an eye.
UConn will also look to freshman guard Ashlynn Shade to contribute, after she scored 19 points against Syracuse and 26 against Jackson State. KK Arnold, another freshman guard, will also be called upon; Arnold hit a clutch three-pointer against Syracuse that put the game out of reach during the closing stretch.
Beyond Richardson, Duke counters with sophomore guard Taina Mair, who scored 11 points against Ohio State on Sunday. Freshman guard Oluchi Okananwa must also step up for the Blue Devils to compete; she is averaging only six points in the NCAA Tournament after averaging 9.3 on the season. Okananwa led the team in rebounding this year, averaging 6.2 boards per game.
Sophomore guard Ashlon Jackson is another key contributor. She enters the UConn game averaging 13.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament. Center Kennedy Brown, a senior for Duke, is averaging 9.5 points and six rebounds in the NCAA Tournament.
When UConn and Duke tip off on Saturday, they will likely play for the right to take on No. 1 seed Southern California, who pushed past No. 8 seed 73-55 on Monday after a tightly contested game most of the way. Kansas trailed by just one with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
Both UConn and Duke would love an opportunity to send home the heavily favored Trojans.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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