Returning to their championship ways
After a month of madness, the NCAA tournaments for both the men and the women have come to a close. The women’s championship match on Tuesday marked the end of the NCAA tournament, and the 8th tournament title for the UConn Huskies. In a match that saw the top-seeded Huskies taking on the number five ranked Louisville Cardinals, most believed the Huskies would inevitably prevail. This was absolutely the case in the 90-63 whooping that occurred in New Orleans on Tuesday night.
Freshman Breanna Steward led the Huskies with 23 points, with 18 of those points being scored in the first half. The 33-point victory was the largest win margin of any women’s title game in history. Though the Cardinals came in hot, being the first five seed to ever make the NCAA finals game, they were no match for the powerhouse known as the UConn Huskies.
The Huskies led the Cardinals 48-29 at the half, and even with the Cardinals cutting the deficit to 16 at one point, there was no hope of any comeback ever in sight. While Louisville relied heavily on the Schimmel sisters during their unprecedented run, the twosome was not much of a factor in the lopsided championship game. Shoni missed her first six attempts and ended the game with only seven points. Her sister Jude sat most of the first half, when she picked up three early fouls.
Though UConn saw their historic win streak end a few seasons ago, it was only a matter of time until they returned back to their championship stature. With the Baylor Bears exiting from the tournament early, the Huskies were the heavy favorite to win the title. This is their first title since the 2010 March Madness tournament, and their first ever coming during a season in which they didn't win a Big East championship. UConn will soon graduate three seniors from their squad.
Photo courtesy of the Huffington Post
