In just a few hours the Women’s National Championship will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It will be the South Carolina Gamecocks against the Connecticut Huskies. In November, the two teams met, with the Gamecocks winning 73-57. UConn will try to avenge that loss on Sunday night.
UConn
UConn’s frontcourt will have to play well if you can to win the championship. Against Alliyah Boston, it will be a challenging task, but Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards must play well. Both players will have to be aggressive on the boards and play tough defense on Boston. They must also give the Huskies some scoring in the paint.
South Carolina is the best defensive team in the country, so baskets could be hard to come by, so scoring in the paint could be key. The Huskies leading scorers, Paige Bueckers and Christyn Williams, will have to play their A-game to beat the Gamecocks. It will be challenging because of South Carolina’s perimeter defense, but they must find a way to get open looks and have knock-down shots with a hand in their face.
UConn will need to use a lot of ball movement and player movement to get some open looks. Evina Westbrook must come with that firepower off the bench to help UConn win the game.
South Carolina
South Carolina should go inside to Aliyah Boston early, and often, UConn is thin up front after the injury to Dorka Juhasz. Boston could get UConn’s front line in foul trouble early. She has shown the ability to score against multiple defenders, and Boston is a monster in the paint and on defense. Once the Huskies start to double team, Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke must knock down open shots.
The Gamecocks must continue to play their tough defense; they give just 50 points per game; Brea Beal will most likely guard Bueckers; Beal did a great job on Hailey Van Lith Friday night. South Carolina does not force many turnovers, but they take away open looks and stay active.
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