It was an exciting contest Monday night as the UConn women's basketball team took down the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight, 80-73. As the Huskies advance to the Final Four, head coach Geno Auriemma had some heartwarming words for Trojans star freshman Juju Watkins after the game that is sure to commemorate sportsmanship in the sport plus a joke mixed in between.
Bittersweet is probably the perfect word to use for Watkins' night as, even though her team lost, she passed Tina Hutchinson of San Diego State in the 1983-84 season to attain the all-time freshman scoring record. She received high praise from Auriemma, who said that she is “probably as difficult a matchup as there is or has been for our players.”
Watkins would finish with 29 points and 10 rebounds, though it was a relatively inefficient shooting night as she made nine of her 25 shots from the field.
The star freshman was defended by UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Nika Muhl for most of the night, which led to the victory, but Auriemma recalled how emotional the freshman was afterwards when they shook hands, according to ESPN.
“She was very emotional,” Auriemma said. “She was crying. Like all competitors, she put her heart and soul into this. I just reminded her, ‘You had an amazing year. Your team wouldn't be here without you.'”
Auriemma talks about the matchup with Watkins and the joke he made
Per ESPN, Auriemma said to the media that he joked about Watkins to “explore professional opportunities overseas or in the Big3 league.” This season for the Trojans, Watkins had been averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 40.1 percent from the field.
“She doesn't play like a freshman at all,” Auriemma said of Watkins. “So it was as difficult a matchup as we've had. But I think we made her work exceptionally hard to get the points that she got.”
Under Auriemma, the Huskies have now reached their whopping 23rd Final Four, which is no doubt an impressive feat in a sport filled with endless talent. Plus, the UConn women's basketball team was also dealing with injuries that only left seven players in the rotation as Auriemma admitted that there was a possible expectation to get fatigued according to ESPN.
“[Assistant coach] Jamelle [Elliott] just kept saying, ‘Let's ride the wave, and when it crashes, it crashes,'” Auriemma said. “Me, there's no wave. There's no nothing. It's just hanging on for dear life … And yet, just when I thought, ‘All right, here it comes,' they would do something that would just make you feel like maybe they got something left.”
“Honest to god, man. I can't believe that this is actually happening,” Auriemma said in his disbelief about reaching the Final Four once again with the Huskies.
Another great performance from Huskies star Paige Bueckers
Bueckers once again had an exceptional night for the Huskies in continuing her impressive tourney run as she scored 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists, making 11 out of her 23 shots from the field.
After the game, she reflected on her ACL tear that held her back a year ago.
“Today was one of the most rewarding feelings I've ever felt in my life,” Bueckers said to the media during her postgame press conference. “Just seeing where I was a year ago, today, doing individual workouts, starting to feel the basketball again, get the ball in my hands again and play. Now, I'm here with my teammates and coaching staff and going to the Final Four.”
Auriemma says the Huskies' self-belief has driven them
If there was one person that supported Bueckers along the way, it was the long-time Huskies coach in Auriemma. He details the mindset that the junior guard had that helped overcome her injuries and climb her way back to the top as she is averaging 22 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.
“When you have players that think like there's nothing I can't do, there's nothing that escapes me, they're just on another level,” Auriemma said. “They play the game on another level. They think on a different level. They inspire everybody around them. So, yeah, today was Paige doing Paige things.”
“They believe in themselves,” Auriemma said, “and they're making me believe in them even more.”
It will not be smooth sailing from here on out as while they are on their quest to win their 12th national championship, they have to get past quite possibly the most explosive player in women's college basketball history in Caitlin Clark and Iowa. The game will be on April 5 as the Huskies are 33-5 compared to the Hawkeyes' 33-4 record.
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